The Mandrake Press was a British small press founded by Edward Goldston and P. R. Stephensen in 1929. In 1930, the company had financial problems and a consortium led by Aleister Crowley formed Mandrake Press Ltd to take it over. The consortium was likewise unsuccessful, and the company was dissolved in 1930.[1]
| Founded | 1929 (as Mandrake Press Ltd) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Edward Goldston, P. R. Stephensen |
| Defunct | 1930 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Aleister Crowley (Chairman & CEO) |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Magic, Occultism, Thelema |
Notable authors
editMandrake Press published over 30 items, including D. H. Lawrence, The Paintings of D H Lawrence together with works by Liam O'Flaherty, Rhys Davies, Giovanni Boccaccio, Peter Warlock under the pseudonym Rab Noolas, S. S. Koteliansky, Aleister Crowley, Thomas Burke, Cecil Roth, Beresford Egan, W. J. Turner, Brinsley MacNamara, Edgell Rickword, Richard Barham Middleton, V. V. Rozanov, Philip Owens, Vernon Knowles, and others.[2]
Notable publications
editAt the 1985 Cambridge University Exhibition of the works of The Mandrake Press, it was believed that no copies of the Book of Tobit, a part of the Catholic bible, had been produced, even though the book had been announced and a prospectus issued. Since then, three copies have been discovered – one in an Australian library and two in private collections.[3]
Book series
editNotes
edit- ^ "The Companies Act, 1929. • MANDRAKE PRESS Limited". The London Gazette (33668): 7940. 9 December 1930. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ The Mandrake Press 1929–1930 Catalogue of an exhibition at Cambridge University Library September to November 1985. Limited to 300 copies. With a prefatory essay by Jack Lindsay, arranged and with a tabulation of items published by the Mandrake Press. New edition published by Cambridge: Cambridge University Library, 1985.
- ^ The Book of Tobit decorated by Ann Gillmore Carter Australian Library Collections
- ^ Mandrake Booklets, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ The Mandrake Press Booklets, bookcollectors.org.au. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
References
edit- Munro, Craig (1984). Wild Man of Letters: The Story of P. R. Stephensen. Melbourne University Press.
- Munro, Craig (2000). "Stephensen, Percy Reginald (1901–1965)". Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- Mandrake Press: Cambridge University Exhibition Catalogue, 1985
Further reading
edit- Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magic After Crowley: Kenneth Grant, Amado Crowley, Chaos Magic, Satanism, Lovecraft, the Left Hand Path, Blasphemy and Magical Morality. Hidden Design Ltd. ISBN 0-9555237-0-2.
