[Item #3070] The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: A Fiction in the Form of a Script (1) w/ The Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2). William S. Burroughs, Dutch Schultz.
The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: A Fiction in the Form of a Script (1) w/ The Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2)

The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: A Fiction in the Form of a Script (1) w/ The Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2)

ISBN: 0714540293
London, England: John Calder, 1986. (1) Trade Softcover Edition Thus / (2) First Printing. (1) Softcover / (2) Stapled Wrappers. "'Dutch' Schultz, who was gunned down by rivals in New York in 1935, is part of the mythology of the American gangster era that reached its peak during prohibition--a mythology that now rivals that of the old west. It has always fascinated William Burroughs, who had derived much of his subject matter from it, and in this text, a fiction in the shape of a film script (film has not yet been made), he recreates the personality of his protagonist, the aura around him and the era in which he lived, shortly to give way to the drug scene about which Burroughs, in 'The Naked Lunch' (sic) and subsequent work, has written so much." (from Back Cover). Included in this bundle are two William S. Burroughs-affiliated publications dealing with the hallucinatory deathbed statements of American gangster Dutch Schultz of the 1930s, who in 1935 was fatally wounded and seized by New York police. His last words, transcribed by a police stenographer and transcribed in full in the second (2) of two items offered here, fascinated Burroughs with their remarkable similarity to the cut-up experiments executed during his pioneering first decade of work in that mode. Subtitled "A Fiction in the Form of a Film Script," it is written in a divded action/sound format with the insertion of many historic photos. This is a short but significant work of WSB's late-middle phase. "The Last Words of Dutch Schultz" was first published in Britain in a trade edition & a limited, signed and numbered edition of 100 in 1970 (see Maynard & Miles A17 pp. 66-69). The edition offered here (1) is the British trade softcover edition published by John Calder in 1986. (see Shoaf pg. 35, 19j.). From the library of Jim McCrary, a poet & educator who was a member of WSB's inner circle of friends & associates during his later years in Lawrence, Kansas. (1) In fine condition with slight rubbing, shelf-wear to front, back covers & fine-edges; tiny bumps at all corners. (2) In very fine condition with only minute rubbing, shelf-wear to front, back covers; vertical rubbing remnant left on back cover resultant from tight placement on bookshelf. (1) Fine / (2) Very fine. [Item #3070]

Price: $90.00