Smith, Patti

Cross Section

Tokyo, Japan: Hysteric Glamour, 2003. First Edition. Hardcover. Tom Verlaine's copy. "I first took polaroids in the early seventies. I used them in collages but most of them are lost. I began again for a brief time in 1995...After the events of September 11 I began making silkscreens of an image of the remains of the south tower of the World Trade Center. The immediacy of the process was a relief from the long involved process of drawing, recording or writing a poem. This feel of immediacy drew me back to the polaroid...They are not modern pictures. They are more the result of meditation than seeing. I am not a photographer, yet taking these pictures has given me a sense of unity and personal satisfaction. They contain all that I understand about light and composition and are a visual record of objects that have little material value but that I cherish nonetheless." (from afterword, unpaginated) A volume of polaroid photographs by Patti Smith (b. 1946), the great American musician, poet, author & photographer (the last despite her modest protestations as quoted above). Haunting & evocative, these photographs of objects associated with Smith's life & work, or which just caught her attention, radiate the same aesthetic which illuminates her writings & singing. Opposite each reproduction is a facsimile of Smith's hand-written title, limitation & signature. Hardcover in publisher's clear protective dust wrapper, a beautiful bilungual Japanese production, officially published on July 19, 2003 per Japanese-language colophon at verso of penultiate page leaf. From the collection of Tom Verlaine (b. Thomas Joseph Miller, 1949-2023), the brilliant American musician whose guitar & vocal artistry with his band Television & later prolific solo career is the object of the highest worship by this writer. Smith & Verlaine were famously friends & colleagues- just listen to their respective singing voices & inflections on their recordings, they are virtually identical. There are no gift inscriptions or signatures present, but the very special status of this copy is certified & can be verified by our friends at Better Read than Dead Booksellers in NYC (betterreadthandeadbooks@gmail.com; (347)-470-5367), from whom we obtained this at the annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair held on October 13, 2024. An extremely scarce & rewarding Patti Smith collectible in its singularly rarest contemporary form, with jaw-droppingly distinguished & relevant provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a bit of rubbing & occasional spotting to blank white cloth back cover; a hint of rubbing at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; otherwise substantially mint inside & out. Publisher's clear protective dust wrapper fine with only slight rubbing, mostly faint scratching. [Item #7047]

Price: $500.00