Dylan, Bob

Poem to Joanie with: Ephemera

London, England: Aloes Books, 1971. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. “This is definitely one of Bob’s more literal poems. The oft repeated [sic] idea that all life is sacred — “He was only a hobo but one more is gone” (from “Only a Hobo”) — appears at the beginning of a poem in the grass pulling confession [sic]. Dylan realized that capitalism’s effects were all pervasive and so it created a culture in which senseless killing was encouraged from early years — Westerns, War Toys and disregard for plant and animal life etc. He goes on to say that as he grew older he began to develop a conception for beauty far removed from general standards — in fact exactly the opposite — it was the raunchy, dirty, oppressed and sordid things and people that he thought were beautiful and so when he heard Joan Baez’s soprano voice he didn’t dig it. Then he talked with Joan and fell in love with her and began to realize that anything, even the shit he hated, could be beautiful” (from Introduction). A wildly rare bootleg of a work by Bob Dylan (b. 1941) dedicated to Joan Baez (b. 1941) with an introduction by the noted American author and infamous Dylanologist, A.J. Weberman (b. 1945). In addition to these distinctions, the item is representative of the Beat Generation & Mimeograph Revolution’s love for Bob Dylan, the great American songwriter, poet, and painter who famously inherited the Folk tradition from the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger before turning it on its head and aggressively reinventing himself several times in the process. This is because it was produced (printed & published) by our friend-&-colleague at the European Beat Studies Network (ebsn.eu), Jim Pennington, during his own season (decades, really) of Small Press/Mimeograph Revolutionary involvement in London beginning in the early 1970s. Pennington’s imprint, remarkably, is still active today: though Jim no longer prints bootlegs that could get him in trouble like this, for the most part…that we know of, anyway, ha-ha. Stay with us, here for a discussion of the bibliographical facts surrounding this collectible: there are four different-colored variations within the initial print run of 300 — this being the final variation, without the “starry wine glass” image near the bottom right-hand corner of the chapbook’s front cover. Another important thing to note — inside the volume, we found & have retained something which is completely unique to this lot. Something that — to the best of our knowledge — isn’t known to have been ‘tipped-in’ (as we say in bookselling) to any of the variants referenced above: a delightful bicolor collage (resembling a photographic negative) featuring the great American troubadour at its center. To zero in on this remarkable piece of Dylan ephemera, see the photographs attached to this listing. Paired with the chapbook’s distinguished provenance (further described below), this mysterious, tipped-in element enhances this lot greatly. A vital, elusive Dylan collectible sure to increase in value in the coming years. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the legendary Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate poet, publisher & bookseller). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published 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.s 8217, 8366). 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 rarities of Unicorn & Public House such as this. Third Mind Books is in the reverent process of incrementally curating & presenting the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy that is in our custodial hands until it passes to yours. Chapbook in stapled wrappers: “This is an edition of 300. The poem was / first printed as liner notes to Joan Baez / In Concert Part 2 TFL 6035 on Fontana. / The poem had no title and this is not a / definitive study, but rather an impression / incorporating images from outside. Our / thanks go, therefor [sic], to Jeff Nuttall for / his pics from Come Back, Sweet Prince, / printed by Cuddon’s Cosmopolitan Review; / A.J. Weberman for the introduction; The / Children’s Reader and Time/Life (for the / Aztec image) and Jane Suren for graphics / and assistance. / Jim Pennington. / (Printing & / Layout),” per colophon. As students-&-scholars of the Mimeograph Revolution will note, the mention of Jeff Nuttall (1933-2004) is especially significant; as Nuttall was a primary author-poet-publisher of the Mimeograph Revolution in the UK, and issued the legendary My Own Mag, which featured several high-octane contributions from the Founder’s Founder of the Beat Generation, William S. Burroughs (1914-1917): who is the patron Saint-Demon of our very enterprise here at TMB. In strong Fair-Good condition with light-to-moderate shelf-wear, bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers; mild-to-moderate rubbing; moderate-to-enunciated age-toning (yellowing, spotting & artifacts similar) present, variously throughout; minute-to-moderate rusting & bleeding to staples at exterior and interior; numerous checkmarks written in pencil also present throughout chapbook, as if this collectible’s initial owner/reader (way back in the ‘70s) wanted to mark his progress as he made his way through it; otherwise, generally clean. Tipped in collage/photographic negative of Dylan in strong Near Fine condition with generally mild-to-moderate edge-wear & one instance of chipping to bottommost fine-edge near lower right-hand corner; a few smudges, some rubbing present, variously at same; otherwise, clean. Fair-Good / Near Fine (Ephemera). [Item #8457]

Price: $300.00