Dorfman, Elsa (Corso, Gregory; Creeley, Robert; Duncan, Robert; Ginsberg, Allen; Kristensen, John; Kyger, Joanne; Mayersohn, Jeff; Mazur, Gail; Olson, Charles; Orlovsky, Peter; Sanders, Ed; Snyder, Gary; Waldman, Anne et al.)

Elsa's Housebook: A Woman's Photojournal with: Ephemera

ISBN: 0879230991
Boston, MA: David R. Godine, 2016 (1974). Third Edition. Softcover; Folded Sheet. Signed by Elsa Dorfman; & with her hand-written, signed note. The classic work of photo-journalism by Elsa Dorfman (1937-2020). After working for Grove Press in NYC during the early 1960s height of its literary ferment, Dorfman moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts but kept in touch with the literary luminaries she had befriended. They visited her & she photographed them, eventually resulting in this volume beloved by enthusiasts of the Beat Generation & Beyond. Here are Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg (with whom she was particularly close, in the company of Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky & by himself), Joanne Kyger, Charles Olson, Ed Sanders, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman & many more. The settings are intimate, literally homey as most of the pictures were taken in her cozy abode. Dorfman resided in Cambridge until her passing, & became well-known for her gigantic Polaroid portraits. A trade-format softcover original first published in 1974, this copy is the third edition of 2016 as noted on final page. With many afterwords by John Kristensen, Jeff Mayersohn, Gail Mazur & others written for the second edition of 2012 & this third edition of 2016. On the title page, below her image, Dorfman has hand-written her large, bold signature in black ink. Also present in this copy, between copyright page & first page of text, is a note on one sheet of Dorfman's letter-size professional stationary dated October 26, 2016, hand-written & signed in the same black ink as follows: "Hi Sue,/ Here is a signed copy of the/ 3rd Edition of the Housebook. You/ will notice the essays from people who I wrote about in the 1st/ edition. It's sold only(twice-underlined) at the/ Harvard Book Store in Cambridge./ Be well. Onward,/ (signed) Elsa." "Sue" is Sue Fox, a venerable, now-retired Beat-&-Beyond bookseller in Texas & our good friend. Dorfman refers to the authors of the later editions' afterwords which she had depicted or written about in the 1974 portion of the Housebook. A delightful narrative & photographic chronicle to curl up with & enjoy; & an increasingly collectible Beat-&-Beyond milestone (in all three editions) with particularly rare signatures, association, provenance & ephemera. Book in fine condition with very light rubbing, scratching & some faint creases to front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same; one small, thin horizontal scratch-tear across blank areas of lower-mid spine & slightly onto covers with minimal loss of colored surface paper. Interior very fine with only tiny bumps & small, faint creases at mostly upper corners of a few page leaves. Ephemera note very fine, folded once horizontally & with some faint creases at blank upper & lower margins, edges; a few tiny bumps at edges & corners. Fine. [Item #5254]

Price: $150.00