Clouds Without Water
London: Privately Printed, 1909. First Edition, State C. 18mo, xxii, 143 pages, publisher's original mottled salmon-colored wraps. First edition of Aleister Crowley’s Clouds Without Water, privately issued in 1909 under the pseudonym “Rev. C. Verey.” One of Crowley’s early poetic works, the volume belongs to the period in which he was developing the literary, mystical, and occult ideas that would soon find fuller expression in The Equinox and his mature Thelemic writings. The book is notable for its combination of erotic, religious, mystical, and symbolist imagery, characteristic of Crowley’s pre-war literary output. This copy is especially desirable for retaining unopened page edges, with portions of the gatherings still uncut and therefore never read in the conventional sense, an unusually well-preserved survival for such a fragile early Crowley publication. A scarce and important first edition by one of the most influential and controversial figures in twentieth-century occultism of particular interest to collectors of Aleister Crowley, Thelema, ceremonial magic, Western esotericism, occult literature, and modernist poetry. Some slight rubbing and wear to wraps, minimal discoloration, else in very good + to near fine condition. Item #512
Price: $1,850.00