CROWLEY, Aleister.

The Book of the Law [Technically Called Liber AL vel Legis Sub Figura CCXX As Delivered by XCIII = 418 to DCLXVI].

Oceanside, CA: Thelema Publications, 1973. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Small Octavo (6 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches) (ii +) 52 pp. Dark red treated cloth with fine pebble grain. Printed on light yellow paper. Very colourful floral-patterned endpapers (the same as used on some copies of the "Monthelema" edition of the "Shih-Yi"). "THE BOOK / OF THE LAW" lettered in gilt across the front board (spine blank).
The cloth-bound issue of the first printing of "The Book of the Law" to be published by Helen Parsons Smith under her Thelema Publications imprint (there was also a leather-bound issue limited to 31 copies). It is not known how many copies of the cloth-bound issue were released, but it has variously said to have been between 100 and 200 copies.
The title page reads: "THE BOOK OF THE LAW / [technically called / LIBER / AL vel / LEGIS / SUB FIGURA / CCXX / AS DELIVERED BY / XCIII=418 / to / DCLXVI] / An Ixii Sol in Aries March 21, 1973 e.v. / Privately issued by the O.T.O. / BCM/ANKH" The verso of the title page has the Thelema Publishing imprint and copyright data, and the page facing that a short, purpose-written "Preface" which is ascribed simply to "The Ordo Templi Orientis" but was probably written by Helen Parsons Smith. This is followed by the Introduction, text of "The Book of the Law" (Liber CCXX), and the "Tunis Comment." These are obviously taken from the 1938 UK edition (the Introduction includes the words "Democracy Dodders" and the words "See the announcement at the end of this volume" that were omitted from the 1942 US edition) and with one exception the errors in the text of "Liber AL" identified by Parsons Smiths' husband, W.T. Smith, and corrected in the 1942 US edition have not been addressed (the exception being the words "tongue and heart" in AL I:32 which have been corrected to "heart and tongue").
From the collection of Clive Harper with his discrete 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 label can easily be removed without affecting the page, although it would be a shame not to preserve this record of the book's provenance.
The numerals "22-12-73 / 133 [space] 3000" are written in tiny letters in what appears to be like Helen Parsons Smith's handwriting across the bottom of the final blank facing the rear free endpaper. It is purely a guess, but this may mean that she received the copy from the binder on December 22, 1973, and that it was the 133rd copy of the "regular" ("trade") edition that she received. The meaning of the "3000" is unknown.
Please note that this is the regular un-numbered cloth bound issue, NOT the deluxe issue.
Merest hint of shelf-rubbing to the points and cloth at bottom of spine. Small circular bookseller's label of the long-gone and much-missed "Librairie des Sciences Occultes" of Nick Schors in Amsterdam on verso of front free endpaper. The half-title page and verso of the final blank are unevenly darkened, apparently some sort of chemical reaction from the endpapers, which were presumably not acid free. Otherwise a near-Fine copy (issued without dust jacket) of an extremely scarce and important edition. Item #73870
ISBN: 0913576018

Price: $875.00