Bunting, Basil; Kenner, Hugh; Turnbull, Gael et al.

King Ida's Watch Chain No. 1: Basil Bunting Bumper Number

Newcastle, England: King Ida's Watch Chain, 1965. First Printing. Packet in Envelope. An assembly of works by and about the great English Modernist poet, Basil Bunting (1900-1985) published in 1965. Besides Bunting, other famous poetic commentators on him also feature in this assembly: including Gael Turnbull (1928-2004), the great Scottish poet who participated, integrally in the British Poetry Revival of the 1960s and 1970s; and Hugh Kenner (1923-2003), the great Canadian scholar, critic, and professor whose writings on Modernism were hugely impactful in the field of literary studies. All contributions are printed on varying sizes of paper, many of which are irregular (i.e., do not always conform to the standardizations with which most are familiar). The largest of these is 8.5” x 13,” and the smallest is a photograph of Bunting, which measures “3 x 4.5.” To acquaint oneself with these variations (as well as the actual works, which are too varied to list neatly here in the body of this curation), view the photographs attached to this listing. Importantly, this was published in 1965: the very same year the great Allen Ginsberg [1926-1997] reported his then-recent meeting with Bunting in the famed Paris Review Interview of 1965 [See TMB Item #8198]. All in all, this is essentially a major Bunting retrospective in miniature; and an incredible collectible on account of it. 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 William S. Burroughs, 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. Assembly of loose, single sheets [printed, alternately on both recto & verso] & one photograph in labeled envelope: the first & only printing of a delightful Bunting-centered rarity. Envelope in Good-Near Fine condition, with minute-to-moderate edge-wear, creasing, bumping, etc. throughout. All printed matter, however in strong Fine-Very Fine condition, many folded at center [or near center], likely as issued, with only minute edge-wear and occasional light bumping to fine-edges & corners; otherwise, pristine. Fine-Very Fine / Good-Near Fine. [Item #8308]

Price: $125.00