The Equinox of the Gods (being The Equinox Vol. III, No. III).
London: The O.T.O., 1937 (1942?). First US Edition. Hardcover, Quarto, vi + 138pp (+ 65 single-sided quarto sheets in a printed folder contained in a pocket at the rear of the volume ). Original white linen, stamped in gilt with title and sigils on upper board and spine. Text block printed on fine "Japanese paper," with color reproductions of the obverse and reverse of the "Stele of Revealing." "The Equinox of the Gods" was Crowley's first real attempt to do justice to the Book of the Law. It includes the text of Liber AL, essays on its history and meaning, color reproductions and translations of the "Stele of Revealing" (which thanks to a rather apt typo is misnamed the "Stele of Revelling") and - for the first time - a full size facsimile of the original manuscript of the book, contained in a printed folder housed in a specially designed "wallet" or pocket at the rear of the book. Aleister Crowley released "The Equinox of the Gods" late in 1936, after an intensive letter writing campaign aimed at drumming up subscribers. His efforts evidently paid off as he was able to order a second printing in 1937. Clearly the printers had not distributed the type, as the second printing is identical to the first, even the year on the title page is unchanged and the typographical errors uncorrected. In fact the obvious only difference is that there is an expanded errata of 17 items, adding an extra 7 to those that had been spotted at the time the first issue went to press. This is the rare first US edition. Crowley had an unknown, but without doubt tiny, number of sets of unbound sheets of the second UK printing sent to his follower W. T. Smith, head of Agape Lodge of the O.T.O. in California, who had them bound locally, creating the first US edition. These copies - of which this is an example - were bound in cream linen (rather than buckram) and while the lettering and design on the front boards and spine closely follows that of the UK edition, it uses a different style and size of font. This example is from the collection of Clive Harper and has his discrete book-label 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. Covers unevenly darkened, corners bumped, head and tail of spine lightly bruised. Gilt on front board a little dulled and rubbed in places. Small, vintage Samuel Weiser NY bookseller's label on front pastedown. Still a tight, internally clean VG+ copy. A truly rare issue - until recently most experts were unaware of the existance of the US edition. Item #69196
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