My thanks to Weiser Antiquarian for permitting me to include this announcement of an exciting new release from Teitan Press. Teitan Press is rapidly gaining a reputation for the finest scholarly Thelemic publications…
Now Available
The Progradior Correspondence
Letters by Aleister Crowley, Frank Bennett, C S Jones, & Others
Edited and With an Introduction by Keith Richmond
Published by The Teitan Press.
First Edition – Limited to 666 Numbered Copies.
Hardcover, Large Octavo, (9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches, approx 23.5 x 16cm), xii + 148pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine. Dustjacket. Black & White Portrait frontispiece. Index. Teitan Press, Maine, 2009. Edition limited to 666 numbered copies.
The Progradior Correspondence comprises the text of ninety letters and other documents that were exchanged between “Frater Progradior” (that is Aleister Crowley’s Lancashire-born follower Frank Bennett), and members of “the Beast’s” inner circle, including Crowley himself, Charles Stansfeld Jones, Leilah Waddell, Leah Hirsig and others.
The correspondence began in 1910 when Bennett wrote to Crowley seeking his advice on the performance of “The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage.” It continued through the years of The Equinox, through Crowley’s residence in the United States during the First World War, and on past the heydays of the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu in the early 1920s. The exchange finally drew to a close in 1926, by which time Crowley had dropped or otherwise lost contact with most of his associates of the preceding decade and a half.
A third of the letters were written by Aleister Crowley. Like the rest of the correspondence, these focus largely on the efforts that he and his followers were making to promote his occult fraternities, the A.’. A.’. and the O.T.O. As such they offer valuable first-hand accounts of the development of Crowley’s creed of Thelema during this important period. The letters are highly revealing on a personal level as well, and provide considerable insight into Crowley’s character and the influence that he had on the people around him. In broader terms they give a fascinating impression of the lives and activities of all those involved.
The Progradior Correspondence is edited by Frank Bennett’s biographer, Keith Richmond, who has also contributed a short Introduction and added footnotes to elucidate some of the more obscure names, words and passages in the letters.
USD $45.00 plus shipping
Special Launch Offer. Signed Copies & Free / Discount Shipping.
In celebration of the launch of The Progradior Letters Weiser Antiquarian Books have a limited number of copies, each of which comes with a special ‘launch-week’ bookplate signed by Keith Richmond on the front pastedown. The signed copies are available strictly on a first come, first served basis, with a limit of two per customer, and will only be available during the first week.
For the launch week ONLY we will also offer free Priority Mail Postage & Packing within the USA and discount shipping overseas.
Discount shipping to Canada: $5.50 per book.
Discount shipping to the rest of the World: $7.50 per book.
This offer only applies to retail copies of the book that have been ordered and paid for before by end of day, October 5, 2009. (Do not worry if our automatic ordering system suggests you will be charged regular postage – as long as you order before October 6, the discount / free shipping offer will be applied when your order is processed.)
Order your copy of The Progradior Letters direct via our secure website at:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com
or email us at books@weiserantiquarian.com
*NB. We still have a small number of copies of Keith’s earlier books on Frank Bennett and Aleister Crowley, Progradior and The Beast, and The Magical Record of Frater Progradior. For information on these titles see: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/progradiorbooks or go to our main website.
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