654. "Crowley (Aleister [formerly Edward Alexander], author and occultist, 1875-1947)" "Rondels & Songs &c.," "AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT SIGNED MINIATURE NOTEBOOK, in pencil, 65pp. excluding blanks, reverse entries, autograph pencil inscriptions: "About 1898… or earlier AC." and "E. Aleister Crowley fecit" and inscriptions in another hand: "Bought in Amsterdam?" in pencil and "Very early MSS by A.C./Early MSS A.C.", 1f. loose, some slight browning, upper hinges split, original roan, rubbed, remains of paper on covers, tail of spine chipped, g.e., 70 x 48mm., [c. 1898]."
est. £6000 – £8000
"Unpublished homoerotic verse by ‘The Great Beast’ as a young man.
Perhaps connected with or inspired by Jerome Pollitt, Crowley's intimate at Cambridge.
"At the age of twenty [1895] Crowley went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study for the natural sciences tripos… . In October 1897 a fevered vision convinced him that all human endeavours are ephemeral, with one exception - the magical tradition. He dedicated himself to esoteric studies and sought initiation by genuine magi. Poetry greatly attracted him, and it was probably Shelley's 'Alastor, or, The Spirit of Solitude' that inspired Crowley to call himself Aleister, a deliberate repudiation of his given name. In White Stains, Crowley exhibited homosexual sentiments. He was intimate with Herbert Charles Jerome Pollitt, a young stage performer who came to mistrust Crowley's 'spiritual' ambition; they separated in 1898." (Oxford DNB). Crowley still prefixes "Aleister" with "E[dward]"."
Unsold