Item #67677 An Original Cast Metal Printing Plate of a Circular Astrological Diagram: The Essential Dignities of the Planets. Aleister - related material CROWLEY.

An Original Cast Metal Printing Plate of a Circular Astrological Diagram: The Essential Dignities of the Planets.

(ND: ca 1945). The plate is in relief and appears to cast from a metal alloy. The circular engraved surface is 5 inches in diameter, and is mounted on the original 5 1/8 inch square, 7/8 inch thick, wooden block. The design of the diagram is the same as that which appears - in much reduced size - on p. 284 of "The Book of Thoth" (1944) with the heading "The Essential Dignities of the Planets" although this is clearly not the one used in that work as it is of much larger size. We have been unable to identify any publication which prints the diagram in this specific size, so it seems likely that that the plate was prepared for a publication that Crowley planned, but never executed. It comes from an old collection, with other printing plates that definitely date from the early 1940s, and it is definitely from that period - probably from around 1944 when "The Book of Thoth" was produced. The printing surface of the plate appears to be in VG+ condition, and it could most likely still be used for its original purpose if someone had the appropriate press, etc. Otherwise it is an interesting curiosity. Item #67677

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