This sad news from my good friends Keith Richmond and Clive Harper…
It is with genuine sadness that we have to inform members of the Aleister Crowley Society and other readers of LAShTAL of the passing, on Wednesday February the ninth, of another of our stalwarts, Nicholas Bishop-Culpeper.
Nick had been a keen collector of Crowley’s books since the early 1960s, and developed an almost uncanny ability to ferret out overlooked or previously undiscovered references to “The Beast” in long-forgotten books and magazines. Although he assiduously avoided the limelight, Nick’s researches added considerably to our knowledge of Crowley and his circles, and the generosity with which he shared his discoveries is attested to by the appearance of his name in the “Acknowledgements” of many books, including Richard Kaczynski’s Perdurabo, Lawrence Sutin’s Do What Thou Wilt, and Martin Booth’s Aleister Crowley: a Magick Life, to name but a few.
Those that knew him will remember Nick as a true gentleman, kind, unassuming, and possessed of a great sense of humour. Aside from his interest in Crowley, he delighted in horror films and books, had a passion for motorcycles – he regularly made the trip to the Isle of Man to watch the TT – and was not averse to the occasional “pint”.
Nick succumbed to a recurrence of the cancer with which he was first diagnosed three years ago. In his final months he was ably cared for both by the local hospital, and by his many friends in and around Newport, the small Essex town where he had spent most of his life. A number of his “Crowley friends” were also able to visit him in his last weeks. All were deeply impressed by his cheerfulness and bravery. He will be missed.
Keith Richmond (Weiser Antiquarian Books)
Clive Harper (Fine Madness Society)
Comments and Reminiscences can be left in the Nicholas Bishop-Culpeper thread.