Description
Marjorie Cameron is best known for her appearance as the Scarlet Woman and Kali in Kenneth Anger’s 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. Anger’s film was inspired by a Dress as Your Madness party hosted by Samson De Brier. Samson, as Arthur Jasmine, appeared in several silent movie in the 1910s and 1920s, the most notable playing alongside vamp ‘Nazimova’ in a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome in 1922. Anaïs Nin attended the party with birdcage on her head and was recast in the film as the deity Astarte.
In 1946 Marjorie met & married Jack Parsons . He was not only an eminent rocket scientist (his formula was later used for the 1969 moon landings) but also an occultist, in the Aleister Crowley tradition. This book Songs for the Witch Woman was written for Cameron, which she duly illustrated.
This volume by the Fulgur Press not only reproduces Marjorie’s artwork but also a facsimile of the original hand written notebook. in 1952 Parsons unfortunately blew himself up and while preparing explosives for a Hollywood film and died. Cameron furthered her occult work in an effort to reach him and was also involved in sex Magick rituals to create a Moon Child (as per the 1928 novel by Crowley). During a resultant pregnancy she refereed to the unborn as the Wormwood Star, she miscarried.
In 1956 film Director Curtis Harrington, also attended the Dress as Your Madness party & appeared in Pleasures dome, shot a 1o mins short of Marjorie called Wormwood Star – watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlmQxOw__yk
- The poems, drawings and diary entries published together for the first time.
- A facsimile of the original 1950s notebook with text by Jack Parsons and illustrations by Marjorie Cameron.
- The texts have also been corrected and typeset alongside a second suite of pen and ink drawings that Marjorie Cameron produced for the work after 1952.
- Contextual commentaries from William Breeze, George Pendle and Margaret Haines.
I copy of the deluxe (156 copies) and 1 of the standard hardback available (1400 copies). Both out of print.
• Fulgur Esoterica Edition Hardback both trade and deluxe – cloth in dust-jacket, 176 pages
12 x 9.5 inches (30.5cm x 24cm) 48 colour images.
• Deluxe edition : 156 copies only (these were numbered, the copy for sale isn’t)
Blue cloth with Quarter black Morocco (Spine), top edge gilt, lined cloth slipcase, premium 135gsm Italian paper. Photos in gallery are of my copy – the one for sale is new and still sealed in the publishers original corrugated card wrap.
• POSTAGE : calculated after checkout & invoiced at near cost. UK 2nd Class Signed – unless requested otherwise. Please enquire for International quotes. UK P&P : 2nd Class singed = £5.55
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