Miller, Henry; Hiler, Hilaire; Saroyan, William

Why Abstract? (Limited Revised Edition)

New York, NY: George Wittenborn Inc., 1962. Third Edition; Second American Edition. Stapled Wrappers. Signed by Hilaire Hiler on front cover. "I promised to say something about painting. Here it is- Saw Hilaire Hiler last night for my first lesson, after weeks of pour-parlers. If it were not that I like him so much I would sit down immediately and do a pen portrait of him. But here is a man whom obviously no one would wish to hurt, and if I were to essay a study of him it would be a caricature. Because he is a caricature of himself. And he knows it, and that is what arrests one and makes one respect him, like him." ("A Letter" by Henry Miller, first paragraph, unpaginated) A short but intense collaboration by & about Hilaire Hiler (1898-1966), the noted American painter & polymath. With the title essay by Hiler; a note on Hiler by William Saroyan (1908-1981), the acclaimed Armenian-American playwright & novelist; letter-essay by Henry Miller (1891-1980), the great American writer & artist whose earlier works were an influencial precedent for the Beat Generation; a Postscript by Hiler; & finally black-&-white reproductions of five Hiler artworks. First published in 1945, offered here is the third of four versions of this work: Large booklet in stapled wrappers, "Revised Edition/ Collectors Copy (500 ltd.)/ Feb. 1962..." as stated on gold-foil oblong sticker affixed to upper margin of front cover. Following the date is a line on which Hiler has hand-written his signature in thin, lightly faded black ink. Per Lawrence Shifreen & Roger Jackson's door-stopper Miller bibliography, this is the "Third Edition/Second American Edition." (A46c, pgs. 170-171). Interestingly, the bold, likely contemporary signature of a previous owner is found at the upper blank margin of the Contents page. We are inclined to believe, but not absolutely certain, that the signature reads "Douglas Blazek"- none other than the underground Mimeo Revolution-&-Beyond legend himself. The signature seems to spell out his name, but is not similar to a much later (2009), definite signature that we have seen (see our item No. 4317). Perhaps Blazek's signature changed during the 47 years between these items, or it's a coincidence, but...you be the judge. A highly collectible version of a most important, one-&-only collaboration of three very significant literary & artistic twentieth-century figures, in its third-rarest, quite limited form signed by Hiler & (possibly) distinguished provenance. In relatively fine condition with moderate rubbing, browning & faint scratching to front, back covers & stapled spine; very light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; mild rubbing & corner-wear, creasing to gold-foil sticker with Hiler signature at front cover; mild browning & rubbing to edges of text block; staples beginning to rust with tiny amount of interior bleeding. Interior fine with mild browning mostly to blank margins/edges of inner covers & page leaves; tiny bumps, creases at corners of a few leaves. Fine. [Item #5813]

Price: $60.00