Clark, Tom

Car Wash with: Ephemera

San Francisco, CA: Features, 1970. First Edition. Stapled Sheets; Single Sheets. An early graphic production by Tom Clark (1941-2018), the great poet, editor & biographer who epitomizes our category of "The Prolific & Underappreciated." A classically produced late Mimeo Revolution production with images of a car going through the stages of washing at a typical American car wash facility. The very sparse text consists of bland captions below some of the images, such as "Car Top Before" followed by "Car Top After" (washing). The almost ghostly figure of an average-looking older driver inside the car as it goes through the automated drive-through phases of the car wash exemplify the banality of the occurrence, as if Clark is beckoning us to notice something we've never bothered to. What else if anything might these images bring to mind? We leave that to the beholder. From the collection of James Perrizo (1944-2006), a most devoted Beat-&-Beyond scholar & collector who was acquainted with & particularly completist about Clark. Included here are very interesting & informative ephemera which Perrizo bundled with this: (1) Copy of Clark's four-page resume (or curriculum vitae) circa 1987, full of information up to that date including for this item under "D. GRAPHICS" category by which we were able to confirm publisher & date, neither noted in sparse text. (2) Official Press Release by Coffee House Press re: Easter Sunday, Clark's poetry collection published by CHP during 1987, single sheet with copied printing on one side only. (3) Copy of front page of Poetry News, issue No. 6 (March 1981), with review by Amy Gerstler of The End of the Line, Clark's poetry collection published during 1980, single sheet with copied printing on one side only. (4) Copy of review by Don Skiles in the San Francisco Chronicle issue of August 26, 1984 entitled "The Real West of Our Time" about Clark's collection Paradise Resisted: Selected Poems 1978-1984," single sheet with copied printing on one side only. The above is the exact order in which Perrizo left these pieces of ephemera, behind Car Wash in a sturdy clear protective pouch, & we have retained this presentation as he left it. A very rare & different Clark collectible, greatly enriched by this ephemera which gives us a generous glimpse of an important collector-scholar at work with his subject. All items in very fine condition with only very light rubbing, scratching & short, faint creasing to surfaces of some sheets; lightest wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; very small area of tiny, non-penetrating pin-dimples at blank right margin-edge of Car Wash front cover, decreasingly echoed across first few interior page leaves; two tiny non-penetrating staple-dimples near upper left corner of copy-printed side of CHP Press Release with rust residue. Very Fine. [Item #3592]

Price: $50.00