McDarrah, Fred W.; McDarrah, Gloria S. (Burroughs, William S.; Corso, Gregory; di Prima, Diane; Ginsberg, Allen; Huncke, Herbert; Kerouac, Jack; Orlovsky, Peter; O'Hara, Frank et al.)

Beat Generation: Glory Days in Greenwich Village

ISBN: 0028645936
New York, NY: Schirmer Books, 1996. First Edition. Hardcover. "From fashion and food to literature and music, the Beats heralded a new way of living, and a new mode of recording their lives. There is hardly a part of American culture today that is untouched by their work. Fred & Gloria McDarrah lived and worked in the heart of the Beat scene. Astute observers and participants, they faithfully recorded what they saw in word and picture. Besides their own thoughts and images, they amassed a collection of authentic Beat writings, all in the author's own hand or typed by them. Now reproduced for the first time, these writings complement the photographs and memories in giving a full picture of what it was like to be a Beat." (from front flap) The monumental collection of images, facsimile writings & commentary which documents the heyday of the Beat Generation in Greenwich Village, NYC during the 1950s-1960s by Fred W. McDarrah (1926-2007) & his wife, Gloria S. McDarrah (1932-2020). The McDarrahs were part of the Village Beat scene they chronicled, while Fred was a staff photographer for the Village Voice, & first compiled his images in the contemporaneous volume The Beat Scene (1960). From the iconic 1959 image of Jack Kerouac Jazz-talking with his arms outstretched (pg. 10, front cover detail) to a suite of photographs depicting Allen Ginsberg & Co. (including Herbert Huncke & Peter Orlovsky) at home in 1960 (pgs. 71-79), the whole historic scene is depicted here, from public performance to the most candid social & familial intimacy. Many if not all of the other great Beats including William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso & Diane di Prima generously appear; along with such allied contemporaries as New York School master poet Frank O'Hara. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. A superb production, un-put-downable from cover to cover, one of the most fascinating compilations on the Beat Generation ever assembled, increasingly scarce & collectible. Book in fine condition with a touch of rubbing to black front, back covers & spine (gilt letters & graphics on spine completely bright & intact); very light wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; mild rubbing & spotting to edges of text block esp. upper edge; remainder mark in black felt-tip ink starting at & perpendicular with spine at lower edge of same. Interior fine with light but somewhat extensive browning, spotting to first few page leaves, decreasing thereafter mostly at blank upper & side margins/edges of further leaves; tiny bumps at mostly upper corners of a few of same. Dust jacket fine with very light rubbing to front, back covers, spine & flaps; very slight wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same; previous seller's barcode sticker, & below it smaller price sticker slightly overlapping, affixed at right of publisher's barcode printed on back cover, substantially all at blank area. An extra handling charge will be added for shipping due to the weight of this item. Fine / Fine. [Item #5145]

Price: $40.00