The Sword of Song. Called by Christians The Book of the Beast.
Benares [ Actually Paris ]: Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth, 1904. "Second" (actually First) Edition. Softcover. Large Quarto (viii) + xii + 194 + (ii)pp, Original gold-printed blue paper wrappers. Extremely scarce: the printing was limited to only 100 copies (and three deluxe copies printed on vellum). Of the 100 copies ten were "advance" copies issued in red wrappers. The remainder were divided into four 'editions.' On purely anecodtal evidence it would seem that by far the greatest proportion of these (perhaps 45 copies) were designated "first editions" (although this was not marked on them) with the rest (presumably 15 of each) having respectively 'Second Edition', 'Third Edition' and 'Fourth Edition' printed on the title page. The reason for this was most likely a Crowleyan mixture of pranksterism and conceit: it allowed him to advertise that the book had quickly reached its "fourth edition" - suggestive of huge sales - whereas in fact only a tiny number of copies had been printed, and fewer sold. As noted the exact division of the print-run is not known, but copies with 'Second', 'Third' or 'Fourth' edition on the title-page are genuinely rare indicating the division of copies must have been similar to that suggested. This volume has 'Second Edition' printed on the title-page.
"The Sword of Song" has been described by Richard Kaczynski as 'Crowley's first great talismanic book.' The wrappers are gilt printed on navy-blue background, with the front wrapper having square comprising the numerals '666' printed thrice, beneath the title, whilst the back wrapper has a magic square made up of Crowley's name spelled out in Hebrew letters to add up to '666.' it is a handsomely produced work, printed throughout in red and black on heavy glazed paper and is one of Crowley's most significant early writings, being the first work in which Crowley publicly identified himself as 'The Beast.' The first half of the book comprises the poems 'Ascension Day' and 'Pentecost', works after Robert Browning's Christmas Eve and Easter Day, along with notes and Introductions. They are followed by three Appendices, each a work in itself: 'The Three Characteristics,' a parody of a Buddhist 'Jataka story', featuring characters that are obviously Allan Bennett and Crowley himself, Ambrosi Magi Hortus Rosarum, an allegorical account of the aspirant's journey, and the essay, 'Berashith. An Essay in Ontology with Some Remarks on Ceremonial Magic.' A final essay, 'Science and Buddhism' is followed by an Index and short Epilogue. 'The Sword of Song' is the classic Crowleyan mixture of serious philosophy, humour, and vulgarity ('Ambrosi Magi Hortus Rosarum' has hanging line notes, which spell out the words 'quim,' 'arse,' 'frig,' 'puss,' and 'cXXt.')
From the collection of Clive Harper with his discrete book-label neatly tipped in at the rear. Harper is well-known as the bibliographer of Austin Osman Spare, for updating the Aleister Crowley bibliography in the 2011 Teitan Press collection of Gerald Yorke's writings, and as someone who has lent his expertise to numerous other publications.
Due to the combination of large, heavy, text block, with soft paper wrappers, the spine of this volume is often lacking or in tatters. In this case, the spine is quite intact, with just a little chafing at the head and some chips to the tail and some light vertical creases. The spine is a little dulled, but the wrappers - which are very prone to fading - are unusually bright, the consequence of the book having spent much of its life in a home-made brown paper dust-jacket (now discarded). Some scattered pale foxing throughout, as almost always with this volume, and some dust-darkening to the fore-edge margins (the consequence of the edges not being uniformly trimmed). Overall a VG+ example of a truly rare edition, especially so in such nice condition. Item #67135
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