Eigner, Larry; Tyson, Ian

A Line That May Be Cut: Poems from 1965 by Larry Eigner with Five Prints and End Papers by Ian Tyson

London, England, UK: Circle Press, 1968. Limited First Edition. Sewn in Wrappers with Loose Artwork Sheets. Signed by Ian Tyson. "5 & 1/2 million/ trees/ annual for the/ Times/ how much is that a/ wood pile/ could not be so/ high who numbers/ streams beaten out/ the anvil/ makes good/ work how many/ leaves or is/ it branches? comparisons/ are themselves incidental/ in determining what/ to afford speak/ the outsides of the/ possible?" (from "S(eptember) 29 65," unpaginated) A collection of untitled poems, all dated at various months & days during 1965, by Larry Eigner (1927-1996), a major American poet of the Black Mountain School who was closely associated with Robert Creeley & who greatly influenced the Language poets. At endpapers, & five loose-as-issued sheets between Eigner's poems, are reproductions of geometric-labyrinthine artworks by Ian Tyson (1933-2021), the acclaimed & prolific British artist. Large-format sewn chapbook in attached wrappers with flaps, one of 250 copies hand-numbered & signed by Tyson in bold black ink at colophon, this is copy No. 8/250. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the legendary Unicorn Bookstore in Brighton, England founded by Bill Butler (1934-1977, the legendary American-expatriate poet, publisher & bookseller). 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 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 which has also now closed, & he still resides there. Third Mind Books has been privileged to obtain what Cupidi has referred to as "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems, including this, of Unicorn & Public House. We are proceeding to reverently curate & present the entire remaining Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy which is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. An essential classic Eigner-Tyson collectible in its singularly rarest contemporary form, signed by the great artist & with the utmost distinguished, relevant provenance. In relatively fine condition with generally mild rubbing, faint scratching, occasional spotting, age-toning to front, back covers & spine of wrappers; several small areas of moderate spot-staining at front cover of same; slight wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps, also blank inner covers; light rubbing, age-toning to edges of text block. Interior fine-to-very-fine with only light age-toning, occasional spotting esp. to blank margins/edges of sewn text leaves & endpaper, loose artwork sheets; tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of some of same. Fine. [Item #8515]

Price: $100.00