Little Poems in Prose.
Paris: Edward W. Titus, ND (1928). First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. xii + 148 + [x]pp. Original cloth covered boards with plain felt spine and felt title label to front board. Top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Edition limited to 800 numbered copies. Crowley's translation of these wonderfully pithy pieces by Baudelaire. Crowley apparently had the sheets for the book printed by the Chiswick Press in 1913 with the intention of issuing it under the Wieland imprint, however for reasons unknown that edition was never published, and only a couple of copies which almost certainly represent a proof-issue survive. The unbound sheets remained in storage until the 1920s, when Crowley had them transferred to Edward Titus of Paris. Titus added new preliminaries and advertisements, along with ten erotic black and white copperplate engravings by renowned decadent artist Jean de Bosschère, and published the work in the current format. Several different issues and binding variants exist, although no order of precedence has been established. This variant has a plain spine - no lettering. Full-page errata ("misprints") bound in at rear. A printed slip tipped onto the half-title page reads "The quota of this edition apportioned to the United States of America sold by Random House, New York." presumably indicating that this was one of the copies offered for sale in America. From the collection of Clive Harper with his discreet 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. Spine darkened and a little chafed at head and tail. Cloth of boards toned around the edges. Moderately heavy foxing and discoloration to endpapers and first and last few leaves - quite common in this edition. Large sliver missing from outer margin of one of the advertisement leaves at rear (obviously a printing flaw - no text missing), The text and plates unmarked. A solid better-than-VG copy (No dustjacket, none issued). Item #68284
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