The April Monthly Feature is dedicated to WSB--and I think you know why. There are a multitude of points in Burroughs' writing where he warns us of coming apocalyptic phenomena--viruses among them. Check out the new edition of "Blade Runner: A Movie" in our special for just one of hundreds of prophetic warnings issued by WSB in his writing. It's only fitting that we once again dedicate our special to him during this historic time in American--and World--history.
Paris, France: Olympia Press, 1959. First Edition. Softcover. "Naked Lunch is a blueprint, a How-to Book...Black insect lusts open into vast, other planet landscapes...Abstract concepts, bare as algebra, narrow down to a black turd or a pair of aging cajones..." (pg. 215) Among the essential primary works associated with the Beat Generation along with Allen Ginsberg's Howl & Jack Kerouac's On the Road, the significance & far-reaching influence of William..... More
[Item #3487]
New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc., 1962. First Printing; Fifth Printing. Hardcovers. Book "And only after the first shock does one realize that what Burroughs is writing about is not only the destruction of depraved men by their drug lust, but the destruction of all men by their consuming addictions...Burroughs is not only serious in his intent, but he is a writer of great power and artistic integrity engaged in..... More
[Item #3472]
London, England: John Calder in association with Olympia Press, 1963. First Edition. Hardcover. Published only in the UK, this work combines texts from the Olympia Press editions of Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine & The Ticket That Exploded, along with new additional material, cut-up & folded-in to form a new work. A very rare William S. Burroughs collectible item, in exceptionally great condition with the book mint except for slight..... More
[Item #1511]
Paris, France: Olympia Press, 1963. First Edition. Softcover. Maynard & Miles C54, p. 122 A bi-monthly literary compilation by Maurice Girodias, the original publisher of Naked Lunch. Includes an episode from The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs, 3 poems by Gregory Corso, & more. A circle the size of a penny has been rubbed off the front cover, crease in spine & slight wear to front & back..... More
[Item #1040]
New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc., 1964. First Edition. Hardcover. "Listen to my last words anywhere. Listen to my last words any world. Listen all you boards syndicates and governments of the earth. And you powers behind what filth deals consummated in what lavatory to take what is not yours. To sell the ground from unborn feet forever-" (first chapter "Last Words," first paragraph) The third & final volume in..... More
[Item #3373]
London, England; New York, NY; Stockholm, Sweden; Tokyo, Japan: The Olympia Press; Paladin-HarperCollins; Flamingo-HarperCollins; Grove Press; Kawadeshoboshinisha; Bokforlaget Pan/Norstedts; Mammoth Publications, 1965-2009. First Edition; First Editions Thus; Third Printing. Four Softcovers; Two Hardcovers; One DVD. Jim McCrary, poet & educator, is a resident of Lawrence, Kansas. During William S. Burroughs' later years there, McCrary was his friend & associate; a member of Burroughs Communications led by James Grauerholz. Offered here..... More
[Item #2885]
New York City, New York: The Viking Press, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. Maynard & Miles A23, pp. 83-84. In one of the earliest book-length critical studies of WSB's work, the excellent William Burroughs: The Algebra of Need, Eric Mottram writes that "Exterminator! is a call for help, a cry of surprise, a shout of recognition, and a demand for the agent and his god to be exposed. Its formal virtuosity..... More
[Item #1051]
London, England: Aloes Books, 1973. First Edition. Softcover. "The white subway gathered silent speed as buildings and landscapes slid by- faster- faster- a blur of film flakes then pictures leaped into sharp focus- mist and frogs in 1920s roads- morning sleep of detour- needle beer in Sid's. He was in a long tunnel of old photos stretching back to his childhood- back- back- "STOP." " (from "Unfinished Cigarette," pg. 1)..... More
[Item #3471]
New York, NY: The Viking Press, 1975. First Edition. Hard Cover. In his important early critical study of WSB, William Burroughs: The Algebra of Need, Eric Mottram writes that in this work, '....Dutch Schultz's mob', the federal government's power.... move in a continuous sphere of action within the monologue of the dying gangster, a deathbed 'last words' under police interrogation, transcribed by a police stenographer, which itself hallucinates a timeless..... More
[Item #1054]
Columbia University: 1975. First Edition. Photograph. Taken at a Columbia University Reading on April 17, 1975 by noted photographer Fred W. McDarrah. Black & white gelatin hand print from the original negative by McDarrah. Caption written on back by McDarrah, with his signature above his address label which is affixed to the back of the photo. Burroughs appears in tweed jacket and tie, gazing to the right. A wonderful image..... More
[Item #1055]
New York, NY: Semiotext(E), Inc. (Columbia University), 1978. First Edition. Soft Cover. Special "Schizo-Culture" Issue. Contributors include William S. Burroughs (The Limits of Control), John Cage, John Giorno, Philip Glass, The Ramones, Robert Wilson & many others. In near fine condition, with some text highlighted in yellow so perfectly that we believe it is part of the original printed product, not added on by a previous owner. Near Fine... More
[Item #1056]
New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. Limited First Edition. Hardcover in Slipcase, Shipping Carton. One of 300 copies numbered & signed by William S. Burroughs. The second work in the great later trilogy of novels by William S. Burroughs, a founding father of the Beat Generation; a literary-cultural figure of gigantic influence & inspiration. Preceded by Cities of the Red Night (1981) & followed by The Western Lands..... More
[Item #2905]
Elmwood Park, IL: The Review of Contemporary Fiction, 1984. First Edition. Soft Cover. The Special William S. Burroughs Issue. 190 pages. Many deeply insightful articles about William S. Burroughs' life & work, by WSB himself, Alan Ansen, Jennie Skerl, Robin Leydenberg, Regina Weinreich, Anne Waldman & many others. A rare & important item of Burroughsian Skullership, in very fine condition. Very Fine. More
[Item #1059]
New York, NY: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1985. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by William S. Burroughs "I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would never have become a writer but for Joan's death, and to a realization of the extent to which this event has motivated and formulated my writing. I live with the constant threat of possession, and a constant need to escape from possession, from Control. So..... More
[Item #3311]
New York, NY: Viking Penguin Inc., 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. Beginning this essential compendium of fragmentary treasures subsequently assembled is an illuminating, informative essay by James Grauerholz, paramount authority on the life & work of William S. Burroughs. Grauerholz relates the events & circumstances surrounding the creation of the work; delineating with unrivaled accuracy the origin of the source material that became "Interzone" & its rescue from the Tangier "word..... More
[Item #2668]
USA: Screen Edge, 1991(later DVD edition). First DVD Edition. DVD. Sealed in Shrinkwrap William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers is a film by Klaus Maeck, available here on DVD - the film includes footage from WSB's public readings of The Western Lands & other works, experimental films in which he appears, his paintings, and an extensive interview with German writer Jurgen Ploog. Burroughs talks about Cut-ups, language and other weapons..... More
[Item #1065]
New York, NY: Lococo Mulder, 1991. Limited First Edition. Hardcover; Folded Sheet. Inscribed & signed by William S. Burroughs to Jim McCrary. A catalog of artworks & accompanying text on the title subject by William S. Burroughs, the immortal Beat-&-Beyond innovator/subverter- who certainly knew a thing or two about these topics. As noted in Eric C. Shoaf's WSB Collector's guide, this was published as "...the trade edition in cloth covered..... More
[Item #2914]
Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto Shoin International Co., Ltd., 1992. First Edition. Hardcover. A large-format art book-catalog with beautiful reproductions of William S. Burroughs' artworks from two 1990 exhibitions: "Paper Cloud," a series of painted file folders shown at the Seed Hall in Tokyo & Akarenga Hall in Sapporo, Japan during June & July; & "Thick Pages," a series of works on handmade paper with mixed media shown at Steven Lowe's Gallery..... More
[Item #2983]
Bonn, Germany: Expanded Media Editions, E.M.E., 1993. First Edition Thus/ First German Edition; Third Printing. Softcover. A late prophetic statement by William S. Burroughs, our foremost Beat-&-Beyond figure of literary & cultural influence. Transcript of "Speech delivered 1980 at the occasion of the Institute of Ecotechnics' "1980 Planet Earth Conference" in Aix-en-Provence" as noted after title page. With complete texts in English & German, next to & reversed from each..... More
[Item #2913]
London/New York: High Risk Books, 1995. First Trade Edition. Hardcover. First published in 1991 as a sumptuous limited edition by the Whitney Museum of American Art, this is the first trade edition of a late short novel that "tells an important story about environmental devastation in a way that only Burroughs can tell it" (back cover blurb). Issued without dust jacket, in glossy pictorial boards. A beautiful copy. As New..... More
[Item #1072]
New York, NY: Viking Penguin, 1995. First Edition. Hardcover. Inscribed & signed by William S. Burroughs to Jim McCrary. "With My Education: A Book of Dreams William S. Burroughs pushes on into new territory, once again committing the unspeakable crime of questioning the reality structure. Dreams have always been a rich source of imagery in Burroughs' work. In this book they are a direct and powerful force. Hundreds of dreams-..... More
[Item #2918]
Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1996. First Printing. Spiral Bound. A blank spiral notebook sold at the acclaimed 1996 exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Ports of Entry: William S. Burroughs and the Arts." With reproduction on clear plastic front cover of an untitled collaborative artwork by WSB & Brion Gysin, "Rub Out The Word," circa 1965, which appeared in their co-written book..... More
[Item #2991]
New York, NY; London, England: grove Press; Flamingo/Harper Collins Publishers, 2000. Publisher's Mock-Up Pre-Edition; First Editions; First UK Edition. Three Hardcovers; One Softcover. One of two first editions/first printings inscribed & signed by James Grauerholz to Jim McCrary. In this volume are the last private musings & reflections of William S. Burroughs, written from mid-November 1996 through July 30, 1997- only a few days before his death on August 2..... More
[Item #2869]
New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc., 11/2009. First Edition Thus. Hardcover in Slipcase. Sealed in shrinkwrap To commemorate the first appearance of Naked Lunch by the French publisher Maurice Girodias' Olympia Press in 1959, Grove Press presents this 50th anniversary edition of the book that brought William S. Burroughs to the attention of readers & academic, cultural & literary commentators throughout the world. Among the essential primary works associated with..... More
[Item #1401]
Bulletproof Film, 2011. First Edition. DVD. A tender, vibrant portrait of the life and work of a Beat Generation icon, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS: A MAN WITHIN is an intimate documentary that breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s. His novel..... More
[Item #1603]