Fisher, Allen (Editor); Mottram, Eric; Ginsberg, Allen

Spanner Fifteen (Vol. 2 No. 5, July 1978)

London, England: Spanner Magazine, 1978. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. Inscribed & signed by Allen Ginsberg to Richard Cupidi. “This issue is the fourth in the second series from England. SPANNER THIRTEEN was to be an issue edited by Richard Miller from New York. Richard has decided to turn this offer into a new SPANNER series from America under the SPANNER NYC heading. These issues will appear independent of the UK Spanner. An announcement regarding availability [sic] of the series, of which the first has now appeared in America, will be made in a future Spanner. Subscriptions will also be independent. SPANNER THIRTEEN is now an issue comprising Eric Mottram’s poem, “Elegy 15: Neruda.” This appears simultaneously with this issue” (from Contents Page). A July 1978 issue of the UK-based Spanner Magazine which prominently features Eric Mottram (1924-1995), a prescient, early contributor to the field of Beat Studies (and much else besides), who impactfully mentored our friend-&-colleague at the European Beat Studies Network (ebsn.eu), Oliver Harris. While most devotees of William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) encounter Mottram by discovering his work on WSB — particularly 1971’s The Algebra of Need — this essay does the Beat Studies scholar (and general reader, too) a favor in reminding them that Mottram didn’t exclusively think about Burroughs. Mottram's contributions to the Beat-critical corpus that relate, as here, to Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), are similarly inventive and proportionate — if are far less widely read. The Ginsberg-focused work here featured is titled, “THE WILD GOOD AND / THE HEART ULTIMATELY: / GINSBERG’S ART OF PERSUASION.” Don’t let the clumsy syntax of its title fool you—the work is both deeply valuable and fascinating. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by WSB, J.G. Ballard et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see an example with our item no. 8217). After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining treasures of Unicorn & Public House, some of which have become the stuff of myth. Magazine in stapled wrappers: the first-&-only printing (of the July 1978 issue) of a unique British literary journal. This copy is specially signed by the great American poet to Cupidi on the front cover’s verso side, & immediately to the right of a bookseller’s sticker (which, in this case, enriches the item; denoting, as it does, the fact that it was owned (& potentially once offered for sale?) by the Public House Bookshop earlier referenced. Ginsberg’s signature, in thin, black, felt pen ink, reads: “Allen Ginsberg / Bristol [sp.] November 16, 1979 / for Richard Cupidi.” In fair condition with pronounced-to-significant shelf-wear; moderate-to-enunciated age-toning, staining, as well as some rubbing & related creasing – (of the horizontal & vertical sort) present, variously at intervals, throughout (included, as the pictures attached to this listing suggest, along the leftmost fine-edge of the item’s front cover, as well as the corresponding fine-edge, on reverse). As was commonly the case with this issue, the staples, — again, consistent with other examples we’ve seen, — tended to bite through the covers, somewhat — although this effect is generally more pronounced on the item’s back cover than the front, it is present on both sides, here. A delightfully plum (& affectionately “Beat”) small press collectible from the 1970s. Near Fine. [Item #8210]

Price: $100.00 save 15% $85.00