CROWLEY, Aleister.

The Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw [ The Gospel According to Saint Bernard Shaw ].

NP [ OTO? ], ND (ca. 1980s). Facsimile Edition. Large format softcover. Quarto ( 8.5 x 11 inches), ii + 238pp. Printed red paper wrappers with black titling, black cloth-tape spine. Reproduces in xerox facsimile the text of the first edition of "The Gospel According to St Bernard Shaw" as it was originally published by Karl Germer in 1953 in a very limited edition. The work is a fascinating collection of writings on Christianity by Crowley, built around a critique of Shaw's "Androcles and the Lion." This facsimile edition is devoid of publication details, but it was probably published by an O.T.O. Lodge or member in the 1980s.
The volume has the ownership name of Gregory Peters (a student of Phyllis Seckler's who went on to found the Ordo Sunyata Vajra in 1999) and Thelemic Year An IIIxxi e.v. (sic) that is 1992 ev in small neat letters at the top of the first page. More recently it is 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.
The production values are pretty basic - the copies of the text pages are clear and perfectly legible, but not perfectly aligned, so the typset blocks are often at a slight angle to the page, and the margins correspondingly irregular and narrow.
Corners of text block and wrappers lightly bumped, a few light marks to the covers, still a VG+ copy of a most unusual edition. Item #69792

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