Various (Bound, Kenneth (Editor); Burroughs, William S.; Hubbard, L. Ron et al.)

Mayfair: Entertainment For Men Vol.5 No. 6 (August 1970)

London, England, UK: Fisk Publishing Company Ltd., 1970. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. "To take up the points raised by Mr. Hubbard, as regards mass media, I am completely in agreement with what he says and have expressed the same opinions in writings. Newspapers stir up trouble and that gives them copy. One murder played up in the newspapers will trigger off similar murders. Ritual murders are the thing now and let's hope it doesn't go as far as the sky-jacking craze." (from "and a final word from William Burroughs," pg. 36) This vintage issue of the UK's answer to Playboy magazine then-edited by Kevin Bound features a "World Exclusive" article by Church of Scientology founder L(afayette) Ron(ald) Hubbard (1911-1986). The sub-title reads: "L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the five-million strong Scientology cult, speaks out for the first time ever in a British publication to defend his creed against world-famous author William Burroughs. Read it carefully- it is a revealing self-portrait of an extraordinary man." (pgs. 28-31, 36) On the final page of Hubbard's article is William S. Burroughs' short reply, bordered & with his image. Maynard & Miles, C276, pg. 165; Schottlander (5.0 edition), C295, pg. 64. As familiar to us Burroughsians, WSB studied, engaged in & commented upon Scientology, he appreciated & benefited from some of its ideas but ultimately rejected it. The rest of this issue is mostly devoted to luscious erotic color pictorials & articles, risque cartoons & of course fascinating-in-retrospect ads for booze, clothing & various gentlemens' accessories. Magazine in stapled wrappers, presumed first-&-only printing. From the collection of our good friend & colleague Brian E.C. Schottlaender, the most-distinguished American librarian-academician who is the author of "Anything But Routine: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography of William S. Burroughs," now in its fifth edition- an indispensable Burroughsian Resource which we always consult for our WSB curations, as above. A scarce Hubbard-WSB-related collectible in its singularly rarest contemporary form, with the highest & most relevant provenance. See also our item No. 8212 (the legendary "Mayfair Academy Series More or Less" compilation that gathers WSB's Scientology-related articles in other issues of Mayfair). In relatively fair-to-good condition (& therefore priced accordingly) with mild rubbing, age-toning & mostly faint scratching to front, back covers & stapled spine; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; covers & spine neatly separated from rest of issue but snug & intact; staples in process of rusting with mild external & internal bleeding therefrom. Interior fair-to-good with mild-to-moderate age-toning to inner covers & page leaves, chiefly at margins/edges; centerfold (pgs. 41-44) detached from staples but (again as with covers & spine) snug & intact; tiny bumps & small, faint creases at corners of some leaves. Fair-Good. [Item #8710]

Price: $40.00