Various (Mills, Brian (Editor) et al.)

The Dreamer No. 9/10 (Double Issue, December 1970- January 1971)

Derbyshire, England: Brian Mills, 1970. Limited First Edition. Folded Sheets. Signed by Brian Mills. This is the later, only double special number of the Dada-Surrealism inspired literary/collage-art journal edited & published by Brian Mills (possibly the acclaimed British television director (1933-2006) whose background was in the arts). With hand-colored front cover image, & vintage circa-Victorian era collaged images, texts throughout. The juxtapositioning & mixture of disparate images & texts were practiced by Mills' predecessors in the Dadaist & Surrealist movements including Max Ernst et al., & were a precursor to William S. Burroughs' cut-up works. Loose sheets folded vertically, one of 100 copies hand-numbered & signed in black ink by Mills at lower rear cover colophon, this is copy No. 4/100. Unique to this special issue (which itself has more-than-usual pages) is the inclusion of a separate production: Single sheet printed on one side only, with an image of (presumably) Mills below which is stamped "The Dreamer" in blue, framed (mostly) by details of a colorful vintage children's illustration initialed & dated "L.D.C. 26" near lower left corner. Much-folded, & in very fine condition with only a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners; many fold-creases as issued; a hint of age-toning & occasional spots at surfaces. The final five issues are included in this group of new arrivals (see item No.s 9024, 9026, 9030, 9032); the preceding issues can be found in our inventory as well. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who was the manager of the fabled Unicorn Bookstore 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 WSB, 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 privileged to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems of Unicorn & Public House, including this. See the other issues in our complete run of the short-lived but legendary series of The Dreamer. A delicately beautiful production with, in this single case, an enchanting supplement; a most scarce & influential collectible in its singularly rarest contemporary form with the most distinguished & relevant provenance. Issue in relatively quite very fine condition with only slight rubbing, faint scratching, a hint of age-toning & occasional spotting to front, back covers & spine; a touch of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; very slight rubbing, age-toning to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only a bit of age-toning to inner covers & page leaves, chiefly at blank margins/edges; occasional spotting from lower edges of a few leaves; miniscule bumps at corners of a few of same. Supplement very fine as described above. Very Fine. [Item #9028]

Price: $75.00 save 10% $67.50