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CROWLEY, ALEISTER. 1912 Mortadello; or the Angel of Venice: A Comedy. Crowley's copy.
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
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Notes: first edition of this five-act dark 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 translation as The Key of the Great Mysteries. The passage cited concerns the relationship between the religious passion of the saints and the extremes of romantic passion, a theme which is manifested in Mortadello in such scenes as the spontaneous generation of stigmata upon a morbid but intensely passionate courtesan. - Condition: All items are offered for sale subject to Swann Galleries'' standard terms and conditions of sale, which are published in our catalogues.
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