Aleister Crowley was - in his own eyes at least - the greatest poet of his day, and even in the eyes of less partial critics, such as his friend W.B. Yeats, a poet of merit. White Stains, his first collection of poetry, was first published in 1898 by Leonard Smithers, who also published Beardsley, Beerbohm, Dyson, Symons and Wilde. Of the 100 copies that appeared in the first edition, 83 were pulped by Her Majesty's Customs in 1924.