CROWLEY, Aleister.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Mortadello or the Angel of Venice. A Comedy. First edition, in the first issue white buckram binding. Mortadello was one of Crowley's favourites among his own works and he tried throughout his life to have it produced without success.In one of these production attempts, Crowley approached Eslanda Goode Robeson (1895-1965), the wife and manager of the American performer and football player Paul Robeson (1898-1976). She declined the offer, noting the play was "most interesting, and very exciting; and beautifully written. But that is literature, not theatre, in the present day sense" (Churton, p. 357).The complicated publication of the play produced two prototype versions before this first edition was released. There is one known copy of a trial printing of Mortadello with the Barabbas and Company imprint, which was printed in early 1912. This was shortly followed by approximately six "sample" copies, bound in grey cloth with two title pages showing the Barabbas and Wieland & Co. imprint respectively. Later the same year the first edition appeared, bound in white buckram with the Wieland and Co. imprint only. Crowley later had some of the unbound sheets cased in red cloth.

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