Various (Hayes, Harold (Editor); Burroughs, William S.; Fischer, Carl; Genet, Jean; Kennedy, Robert F.; Lois, George; Sack, John; Seaver, Richard; Southern, Terry et al.)

Esquire: The Magazine for Men, Vol. LXX No. 5 Whole No. 420 (November 1968)

New York, NY: Arnold Gingrich, 1968. First Printing. Glued Wrappers. This vintage number of the venerable men's magazine chiefly edited by Harold Hayes famously includes a compilation of articles under the title "Chicago: The Year of Our Lord, 1968," with contributions (in order) by Terry Southern ("Grooving in Chi"); Jean Genet ("The Members of the Assembly"); William S. Burroughs ("The Coming of the Purple Better One") & John Sack ("In a Pig's Eye"). The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was one of the key events that characterized the divisive, near-anarchic nature of that critical year in American and world history (though our current political climate is fast catching up to its level of polarization...). The "Establishment" & counter-cultures confronted each other with spectacularly explosive results; the image of Mayor Daley's police force brutally pummeling anti-Vietnam War Hippie demonstrators is seared in the national consciousness. WSB, the foremost Beat-&-Beyond figure, returned briefly from his quarter-century expatriate period to his home country to provide his impressions of this legendary event, along with avant garde literary lions Genet (in translation from French by noted publisher Richard Seaver) & Southern, as well as acclaimed war correspondent & Esquire staple Sack. Each of these contributors is drawn by the great political caricaturist David Levine. With front cover bird's-eye staged photograph of (from left) Genet, WSB, Southern & Sacks surrounding a beaten protestor as they look up at the viewer, by George Lois & Carl Fischer. Maynard & Miles, C214, pg. 158; Shoaf, Section III, No. 126, pg. 137; Schottlaender, C181, pg. 47. This issue also includes several articles relating to the assassination, funeral & legacy of Robert F. Kennedy, who was tragically felled earlier that year along with The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (& whose killer Sirhan should never be released from prison if we may say so ourselves). With many other articles & illustrations; exemplary ads for cars, clothing, cigarettes, liquor, toiletries & then-newfangled innovations like 8-track music tapes for suave male readers to stay up-to-date & attract pre-feminist women; etc. Complete with loose subscription promotion card-envelope. From the collection of Brian Schottlaender, author of "Anything But Routine," the most complete & up-to-date WSB bibliography now in its fourth ever-expanding online edition. We always consult our good friend Brian's ABR for all our WSB-related rarities, as above. An iconic WSB collectible with distinguished provenance; an important record of & from a traumatic year in history. In relatively good-to-near-fine condition with moderate rubbing, light scratching, faint creasing & slight browning to front, back covers & spine; mild wear & some tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same; one short, closed tear between upper edge, corner of spine & front cover; moderate rubbing & browning to edges of text block. Interior fine with only mild browning, spotting mostly to blank margins of page leaves; very small, faint creases & tiny bumps at mostly upper edges of some of same. Good- Near Fine. [Item #4615]

Price: $40.00