CROWLEY’S COPY
64
CROWLEY, ALEISTER.
Mortadello; or the Angel of Venice: A Comedy.
Square 8vo, original white buckram with gilt lion of St. Mark on front cover, spine rubbed
and darkened, ends bumped, stains on covers; paper clip indentation in upper margin of
pages xi-7, free endpapers browned.
London: Barabbas and Company, 1912
[5,000/7,500]
SIGNED FIRST EDITION
of this five-act comedy in alexandrines; issue with the imprint of
Barabbas and Company (instead of the typically seen Wieland and Co.) on the title. A small
number of copies were printed with both titles, but we could find no reference to a copy with the
Barabbas and Company title alone.
The half-title is
INSCRIBED AND SIGNED
:
“Aleister Crowley / Library Copy.”An additional
inscription in his hand on the verso reads “La passion religieuse de Levi Clef des grs Mystères
p 123,” referring to Eliphas Levi’s influential occult work, of which Crowley published a trans-
lation as The Key of the Great Mysteries.
65
●
CRUIKSHANK, GEORGE.
A Comic Alphabet.
Designed, etched and pub-
lished by George Cruikshank. 24 hand-colored plates. 12mo, rebound in
3
/
4
navy morocco
over marbled boards, spine gilt, some rubbing to joints and board edges, top edges gilt;
original yellow covers bound in, plates bright and clean. Second edition, colored issue, with
the rear cover advertisement for the Comic Almanack on the wall dated 1837. Cohn 189.
[London]:Tilt, 1837
[400/600]
63
●
CROSBY, HARRY.
Red Skeletons.
Title and text printed in red and black.
Frontispiece and plates after Alastair, printed in red and black, lettered tissue guards. 4to,
original printed wrappers, light finger soiling, margins slightly tanned, backstrip chipped
with some loss to foot.
FIRST EDITION
,
NUMBER
108
OF
370
COPIES
.
WITH AN EARLY
12
LINE INSCRIPTION BY CROSBY
. “Dear Winship[?],This book is in a large sense due to your
excellent advice for me to seek for a certain ‘literary effect’ ... you might like the Alastair
illustrations - Gratitude, Harry Crosby, Paris 1927.”
Paris: Éditions Narcisse, 1927
[500/750]
WITH
—
De Laclos. Les Liaisons Dangereuses. 2 volumes. Printed in red and black.
Illustrations by Alastair. 4to, printed wrappers, soiling, edgewear, few small chips to glassine
wrappers. Limited edition. Number 199 (Volume 1) and 479 (volume 2) of each 1000 copies.
Paris: Black Sun Press, 1929.
64
