93 Jermyn Street

From the O.T.O. Newsletter of May 1979

It has occurred to me [Grady McMurtry] that I am one of the few people left alive who knew Aleister Crowley at the last three places he lives: 93 Jermyn Street; The Bell Inn, Aston Clinton, Bucks, north of London; and Netherwood, The Ridge, Hastings. So, let's meet Aleister Crowley.

As I said in a previous rap, 93 Jermyn Street is just off Picadilly Circus in London. As best memory serves, it is the bottom flat of a several story apartment house facing North.

This is what the interior looked like.

A is the door leading in off the street.

B was a large window that lighted the place very well during the day, but at night had a black "back-out" shade on it so that no light could be seen by the German bombers we could hear patrolling overhead.

C was the chess table.

D and F were two comfortable chairs facing the table. I always sat in D and Crowley always sat in F.

G was the round turn-table full of books down at my right—where I picked up the I Ching book with the Crowley paintings for covers.

H was the two tiered open book case on the North wall over under the window. The letter H itself is about where I found the volume of Abramelin squares. It was on the top shelf.

I signifies four framed line drawings in typical Crowley style that I can only describe as being "mildly erotic." They were certainly not obscene. Unfortunately the only one I remember with any clarity was the one on the left. It featured a young lady looking down with great delight at what looked like an overgrown bush, with Crowley in Oriental garb looking over her right shoulder; and the caption read something to the effect about how wonderful it was to know this young woman, because "she has the world's largest cunt!" Unfortunately these line drawings did not survive to be shipped to Germer after Crowley's death. I can only presume that they were ripped off.