Crowley was publishing industriously in the Paddington Green period, including The Equinox of the Gods; this contained The Book of the Law, with supplementary material, and it was handsomely produced, with a facsimile of the Cairo manuscript in a pocket at the back.
He had published The Equinox of the Gods already in September 1936, in the Welbeck Street days, with a celebratory dinner for Pearl and Karl Germer at which Pearl became unpleasantly drunk. Now he published a second edition with all the fanfare that should have accompanied the first, and with a dramatic prospectus asserting that publication of The Book of the Law caused wars by supernatural means. “THE FIRST PUBLICATION” was “nine months before the outbreak of the Balkan War, which broke up the Near East.” “THE SECOND PUBLICATION”, in September, 1913, was “was nine months before the outbreak of the World War, which broke up the West” (when “the might of this magick burst out and caused a catastrophe to civilisation”). “THE THIRD PUBLICATION”, the one in 1936, was nine months before the Sino-Japanese War (July 1937) and now “THE FOURTH PUBLICATION”, in December 1937, was to be the big one, with the world clearly heading for a smash. This publication would bring on another massive war, after which Thelema would triumph.
Crowley had some trouble with Simpkin & Marshall, over at Stationers Hall Court in the City. They were supposed to distribute the book, but he took charge of it himself, publishing from a box address BCM/ANKH at British Monomarks (today in Old Gloucester Street, but then at 188 High Holborn). He wanted the ritual launch to include the giving of a copy to a representative of each of the world's races, so the night before the Winter Solstice, with a representative white man (Gerald Yorke), Crowley went on an extended pub crawl. They were also accompanied by his politician-journalist friend Tom Driberg, who came along as an observer and wrote the whole thing up rather drily in his Daily Express gossip column. They picked up the full complement of a “An Englishman, a Jew, an Indian, a Negro, [and] a Malayan”, the Malayan representing the “yellow race” since they couldn't find any Chinese or Japanese people. Perhaps surprisingly, Rollo Ahmed doesn't seem to have been roped in (possibly they had to be strangers, new to the business: civilians, as it were). Instead they found a black “dancing-girl”. The Indian was a Bengali Muslim who spoke no English, and “seemed rather puzzled by the whole business”.
It was an ordeal keeping the party together until 6.22 in the morning, helped by drinking whisky and going to the room of “one Erskine” (“a terribly dull party”, Crowley wrote in his diary; either the gathering or Erskine himself). Finally, at the obelisk, it was time, and Crowley made a brief speech: “I, Ankh-f-n-Khonsu, the Priest of Princes, present you, as a representative of your race, with The Book of the Law. It is the charter of universal freedom for every man and woman in the world.” Then everyone could go home, and he went to bed.
Meanwhile daily life continued. It was a couple of nights before this that he'd had his dalliance with Joan Dobson in the street outside her flat on Porteous Road, and then the day after that he'd managed an opus with her (dedicated to “Publication,” but “premature – too much excitement”). After the Obelisk party he had a hangover (“v. bad”) and finally roused himself to go up to Euston Road and meet Joan for dinner at Casa Prada, but she didn't turn up.