Various (Evans, Paul (Editor); Dowden, George; Hollo, Anselm; Rothenberg, Jerome et al.)

Eleventh Finger No. 1 (The "Deep Image" Issue)

Brighton, England: Eleventh Finger, 1965. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. The first issue of Eleventh Finger, a literary magazine edited and published by Paul Evans in the UK during the mid-to-late 1960s. The crown of this issue is its focus on “Deep Image” poetry, which was a style, method, and way of thinking about writing pioneered by poets including our late friend & mentor, Clayton Eshleman (1935-2021), Jerome Rothenberg (1931-2024), and George Dowden (b. 1933), and the latter two are featured here. Also featured is the Finnish poet and translator, Anselm Hollo (1934-2013), who appears here with two poems at the end of the issue. An obscure and elusive small press collectible. Literary journal in stapled wrappers: the First-&-Only Printing of the very first issue of Eleventh Finger. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate 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 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, including this gem. In Very Good-Near Fine condition with moderate-to-enunciated shelf-wear, rubbing, some light bumping, a few instances of slightly more pronounced bump-creasing to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; general horizontal, as well as vertical use-&-storage-based creasing to/at/along fine-edges of same; mild-to-enunciated age-toning, foxing, fading, & artifacts similar in style or gradation to these present variously throughout; otherwise, generally clean with interior unmarked. Very Good-Near Fine. [Item #9022]

Price: $100.00 save 10% $90.00