Burroughs, William S.

Ali's Smile

Brighton, England, UK: Unicorn Books, 1971. Limited First Edition. Hardcover; LP Record in Sleeve. Hand-numbered & signed by William S. Burroughs. Here it is, Devoted Third Mind Burroughsians- The very rarest collectible in the entire published oeuvre of William S. Burroughs, Founding Father of the Beat Generation-&-Beyond, among the foremost literary & cultural figures of all time, the very Icon-Patron of our enterprise: The very first, limited & legendary edition of Ali's Smile, a volume accompanied by a 12" LP record in blank sleeve, on one side of which is (a slight variation of) the text of Ali's Smile read by WSB. The volume, with its exquisite gilt illustration of a Moroccan dagger ("Kris"), is from an edition of only 99 copies produced during October 1971, hand-numbered & signed in bold black ink by WSB at recto of second leaf, this is copy No. 10/99. The story therein is quintessential vintage post cut-up WSB- violent, macabre, surreal, exotic, erotic & darkly humorous. It partly relates to Scientology, with which WSB had a dalliance at this time. Maynard & Miles, A19(a), pgs. 71-73, with all points therein except the "...light brown cardboard carton..." in which the volume was issued according to M&M (pgs. 71-72). As we obtained this from the surviving publisher himself (see below), we surmise that it was never boxed or shipped, remaining in his collection until now. See also Shoaf, Section I, No. 21, pgs. 35-36, excerpted wherein: "It has always been difficult for collectors to find this title, and is probably the most sought-after of any Burroughs A-item..." Email correspondence with Richard Cupidi, publisher of Ali's Smile at Unicorn Books, is revealing as he notes: "There were 99 copies of the book to be issued, but my then-partner left 20 or so LPs on a heater which warped the play out of them. So, some books were sold without the record, and the remaining couple of dozen unsold books were pulped. There were probably less than 50 full sets distributed including a number of which went to libraries." See also Schottlaender (new 5.0 edition), A23(A), pg. 12. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed friend 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- most especially this very production. After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler (the "then-partner" referred to above) 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- again most especially this very book-&-record set. Beginning with today's assortment of New Arrivals exclusively dedicated to this collection, Third Mind Books will reverently curate & present incrementally the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy that is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. The Supreme WSB Collectible, with both components & the highest, most relevant provenance- the surviving publisher Richard Cupidi himself, who by the way again confirmed to us the anecdote about the stack of LPs placed atop the heated radiator at Unicorn Bookshop, during one of our jolly conversations. See also our item No. 5897. Book in very fine condition, substantially mint inside & out. Blank white Record outer sleeve relatively fine-to-very-fine with only a bit of rubbing, faint scratching & occasional spotting to surfaces, edges & corners; one line (appx. 6&1/2-7") of glue(?) residue spots & minor instances of surface paper loss from upper right edge of front cover. Inner sleeve (plain with clear circles at centers of both surfaces) fine-to-very-fine with only moderate age-toning especially at margins/edges; one fold at upper left corner toward front (probably as issued). LP record appears unplayed with no discernable scratches. A handling fee of $200.00 will be added for shipping due to insuring the value of this item. Very Fine / (Record Sleeve) Fine- Very Fine. [Item #8217]

Price: $25,000.00