THE STRATAGEM AND OTHER STORIES.
London: The Mandrake Press, [1929]. Small octavo, pp. [1-8] 9-139 [140: printer's imprint], original decorated gold and black boards with black cloth spine panel, printed paper label affixed to spine panel. First edition. Crowley's only collection of short fiction. Includes "The Testament of Magdalen Blair," "a description of after death experiences as the brain decays ... one of the most horrible stories ever written." - Sullivan (ed), The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural, pp. 106-07. "... a remarkable achievement, as one of the most unpleasant stories in the genre." - Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 457. "... spectacularly nasty-minded ..." - Barron (ed), Horror Literature 3-56. [Reference: Bleiler (1978), p. 53. Reginald 03666]. Some darkening to end papers, some foxing to fore edges, a nearly fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket with a small closed tear to the lower rear panel, slight darkening to the spine panel. (28554). Item #28554
Price: $850.00