Ginsberg, Allen

Autograph Letter from Allen Ginsberg to Richard Seaver

n/p: Allen Ginsberg, n/d. Autograph Letter Signed. Single Sheet. Hand-written & signed by Allen Ginsberg. "Dick= I think this would/ make a very great/ magazine cover- for/ you- Especially if you/ had a great and dead serious (underlined) / issue to go with it- perhaps/ Rosset's idea of The Fall/ of America(underlined) (dead hard)- I/ don't mean this as a joke-/ you'd really get sensational/ attention, once anybody noticed/ what it was. (signed) Allen Ginsberg." Thus did Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), Founding Father of the Beat Generation, cursively write by hand in dark red ink to "Dick," Richard Seaver (1926-2009), the great American editor & publisher. To quote a curatorial sheet from previous seller which we include, "Richard Seaver was one of the most important figures in American publishing in the second half of the twentieth century; he "discovered" Samuel Beckett and helped him get published in the U.S.- by Barney Rosset's Grove Press, for which Seaver later worked, eventually becoming editor-in-chief. He helped Grove defy the censorship laws of the time by publishing such writers as Henry Miller, Hubert Selby and William Burroughs. He later had his own publishing imprint at Viking Press, where he also published Burroughs...This letter probably dates from the late 1950s or early 1960s, and represents a nexus of modern American publishing of no small significance..." On verso, Ginsberg has hand-written the names of "Dick Seaver & Barney Rosset" in the same red ink as letter on recto. We can only speculate what "this" was that Ginsberg refers to as originally included with his letter- a provocative illustration or photograph? Was he thinking of a front cover for Grove Press's Evergreen Review? Single sheet (appx. 5&1/3" x 8&1/2") once-folded horizontally into two panels/ four sides with attendant crease. A one-of-a-kind, relatively early vintage rarity in Allen Ginsberg's hand, with very rich American literary associations. In fine condition with mild creasing (including fold-crease noted above), light browning & occasional tiny spotting to surfaces; very light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same; Right edge & corners of letter (left & edge & corner of verso) slightly irregular as if carefully torn out from notebook; crossed-out numbers & letter ("1316N") below names of Seaver & Rosset in Ginsberg's hand & same ink; small pencil notations by previous seller in blank area just below upper edge of verso (which we retain for fear of even the slightest damage to this document). Fine. [Item #4116]

Price: $600.00