"In 1992, we published our first title by Austin Spare. Two typescripts, one of aphorisms (which we titled Axiomata) and another giving a synopsis of The Witches’ Sabbath were published dos-a-dos, or back to back, in a single volume. The work was illustrated with two tipped-in frontispieces and a selection of dramatic sketches from an unpublished sketchbook by Spare.
Shortly after publication, over half the edition was lost. Nearly 500 sets of unbound sheets were pulped when the printer filed for bankruptcy and his warehouse emptied. Within a few years, the original published price of £23.00 was eclipsed by secondhand values (which have reached over £200.00) and the title has been scarce since the late 1990s. In 2001, the binder we used nearly ten years earlier contacted us to say they had discovered a batch of unbound sheets, totalling nearly 100 copies. Naturally, we were rather pleased.
Since this version of The Witches’ Sabbath first appeared in 1992, the publication of Zos Speaks! has documented in detail the creation of this important tract nearly 50 years after it was written. In the summer of 1951 Austin Osman Spare was invited by Michael Hall to submit an illustrated article for his bi-monthly publishing venture, The London Mystery Magazine. Working together, Kenneth Grant and Austin Spare developed a potent formula of word and image that applied the process of the Death Posture to group ritual; specifically within the context of the Sabbatic tradition. As a collaboration between two of the most influential minds of twentieth-century occultism, it represents a powerful evocation of Spare’s essential doctrine.
We are delighted to offer our subscribers a very limited re-issue of The Witches’ Sabbath and Axiomata, signed by Kenneth and Steffi Grant. Just ninety-one copies have been made up from the original sheets, with a new title page added and colour frontispieces printed with the vibrancy of modern colour reproduction. The edition will be bound in quarter black morocco, dust-jacket and slipcase to our usual standard."