"Happy Dust." A lengthy paean to cocaine use in the form of a 5 page typescript of the long poem "Happy Dust," with annotations in the hand of Crowley, and a handwritten cover sheet showing that (in addition to two published appearances) he planned to include it in "Banyan Book," a publication that he planned which never came to fruition.
ND. Six sheets of 10 x 8 inch plain typing paper, the first a holograph cover page, and the remaining five typed and numbered pages with annotations, having the text of the poem "Happy Dust" (text etc. on rectos only). It is not currently known when Crowley wrote "Happy Dust" - the phrase itself was slang for cocaine, and appears to have come into favour in the nineteen twenties - but there is a good possibility, at least, that he wrote it in 1939. It had two published appearances during his lifetime, one in his "Temperance. A Tract for the Times" (1939) - a deliberately mistitled selection of lyrics devoted to various forms of debauch and excess - and once in "Olla. An Anthology" (1946), Crowley's own selection of his favourite poems chosen from throughout his entire life. In both volumes the poem is dedicated to a Margot, most likely Margot [Cripps?] a woman with whom, according to his diary, he engaged in a number of drug-fuelled sex-magick workings in late 1939 and early 1940. It therefore seems likely that he wrote the poem with "Margot" in mind, although it could be that it was actually an earlier poem that he retrospectively came to identify with her. That the poem was a favourite of Crowley's is beyond doubt. Not only did he include it in "Temperance" and "Olla", but it is also found in one version of his unpublished "Book of Oaths." The present typescript demonstrates that he also intended to include it in another unfinished work, named "Banyan Book." Little is known of his "Banyan Book" project, which never reached fruition, but the cover sheet of this typescript has "Banyan Book" in large letters in Crowley's handwriting, and beneath it he has listed four works that he evidently planned to include in it: "Happy Dust", "Little Essays Toward Truth", "The Three Schools of Magick" and the Tao Teh King." In the upper margin he has written in pencil "Installment 2" - but whether he means this was part 2 of the "Banyan Book" or "Banyan Book" was part 2 of some series is not known. At this stage little is known of "Banyan Book" other than that is was evidently a project of the early 1940s, but further research is needed. There are a few rust marks from paper clips evident in the upper corner of the cover sheet, which is a little dusty and creased around the edges. It and the typescript pages show a slight discoloration but are overall in VG+ condition. The document is guaranteed genuine (as are all items sold by us) and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
A remarkable and rare piece. While Crowley is clearly associated with drugs in the popular imagination, and they did play an important part in his life and Magick, tangible pieces associated with it, like this, are genuinely rare. Item #70973
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