George MacBeth

The Night of Stones

London, England, UK: Macmillan and Co Ltd, 1968. Limited First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by George MacBeth. "No, there was nothing first. Only his air/ Stretching for ever, as it seemed. And wind/ Cool on their dying faces from the hills/ Where cars moved through dark forests, bearing gifts/ And laughing children to the caves and mines/ Far to the West. Where there was pine-scent, wheels/ Hung in that air, turning each corner, stilled/ On the brink of something." (Section I, "Driving West," Part I, first stanza, pg. 3) An earlier collection of poems divided into six sections by George (Mann) MacBeth (1932-1992), the revered & prolific prize-winning Scottish poet & novelist. The poems here are exemplars of MacBeth's intense, evocative, sui generis style. We here offer the limited edition of this volume: A stately production, hardcover in publisher's clear protective dust jacket as issued, one of an edition of 110 copies of which 100 were for sale, hand-numbered & signed in black ink by MacBeth at colophon (opposite title page), this is copy No. 33/110. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who was the manager of the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England founded by Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate poet, 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 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 is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems from Unicorn & Public House, such as this. Third Mind Books proceeds to reverently curate & incrementally present the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy which is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. A key, essential MacBeth collectible in its rarest contemporary form, greatly enhanced by the Late Great poet's signature & with most-distinguished, relevant provenance. Book in relatively very fine condition with only a hint of age-toning, fading to front, back covers & spine; a touch of wear, age-toning & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; mild rubbing, age-toning & occasional spotting to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only mild age-toning to page leaves, chiefly at blank margins/edges. Publisher's clear protective jacket (over which we have placed ours) relatively good-to-near-fine with mild rubbing, faint scratching to surfaces; chip from upper left edge/corner of rear cover with moderate loss of material; angled-vertical closed tear from right upper edge/corner of same. Very Fine / Good- Near Fine. [Item #8886]

Price: $50.00