Ginsberg, Allen

Broadside: Police State Blues

n/p: n/p, 1970. First Edition. Single Sheet. Hand-placed, dated & signed by Allen Ginsberg. "Night meat lights/ hypnotizing hungry autos on iron bridges/ crossing down Main/ "Get a goddamned haircut!"[/ front window cry, whose face dark drunk/ or beautiful chiseled mouth kist by whiskey?" (first stanza) A broadside with the title poem by Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), a Founding Father of the Beat Generation-&-Beyond. Dated March 15, 1970 below facsimile signature following poem, with kaleidoscopic/homoerotic framing & central collage artwork credited to Joseph La Penta (of whom we could not obtain any information). The poem is most exemplary of Ginsberg's exultant-incendiary poetic style- an emphatic statement of sexual & creative liberation from enforced convention. At verso is a contemporary image of Ginsberg, the title & below this "Allen Ginsberg 1970." While Morgan cites this poem as included in various journals & collections, there is no reference to this broadside appearance, which has no information regarding place or publisher- we surmise that it is some kind of quasi-authorized bootleg of unknown source or limitation. At recto just below lower frame-line, in bold black ink, Ginsberg has cursively hand-written: "Bristol November 16, 1979 (space) (signed) Allen Ginsberg." From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed friend in the UK who managed the legendary Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton,, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977), the famed American-expatriate bookseller, poet & publisher. From the late 1960s until 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 for example our item No. 8217). After prevailing against censorious harrassment 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 Beat-&-Beyond Myth (again see item No. 8217). Third Mind Books is proceeding to reverently curate & incrementally present the Butler-Cupidi-Public House Legacy that is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. As for this item, we would not be surprised if it was the source of some of the trouble that Unicorn incurred, & perhaps Unicorn had a hand in its seemingly then-clandestine production. Third Minds will see, as our curating of this collection unfolds, that Ginsberg & his companion Peter Orlovsky paid a visit to Cupidi & Co. during November of 1979, & that Ginsberg inscribed, placed, dated & signed for them many of his publications & ephemera on November 15 & 16 of that year. Most place references are for Brighton, Bristol is a three-hour drive northwest of there. An extremely scarce Ginsberg collectible in its singularly rarest enigmatic form; greatly enriched with the poet's place, date & signature & with the highest, most relevant association & provenance. In relatively good-to-near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing, age-toning, faint scratching, creasing & occasional areas of slight fading & spotting to recto & verso; mostly light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners incl. one short, closed tear from upper left (recto) edge with no apparent loss of paper; one vertical crease across length where once-folded. Good-Near Fine. [Item #8317]

Price: $400.00 save 15% $340.00