Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$4.73 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Shows some light wear from age and use. Interior is good with sound binding and no marks, damage or labels. We Ship Daily! Satisfaction Guaranteed!
Seller: Cathy's Half Price Books, Havertown, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$4.95 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: In b/w wraps, 12mo, 44pp. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall
Seller: Vashon Island Books, Vashon, WA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$5.38 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Ships from the UK. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, US, 1956.
Price: US$5.64 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. A precise and exacting indictment of modern society, from capitalism to con formity, "Howl" is just as relevant today as it was when its initial public ation got the publisher arrested. This is a foundational piece of modern Am erican poetry. A deluxe hardcover commemorative facsimile edition of this groundbreaking American classic, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its publication, this is the original City Lights 'Howl,' the prophetic masterpiece that revolutionized American poetry and American consciousness. New Preface by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Seller: Infinity Books Japan, Tokyo, TKY, Japan
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$6.65 + shipping
Condition: New
Description: reissue edition. 57 pages. 6.25x4.75x0.50 inches. In Stock.
Seller: Revaluation Books, Exeter, United Kingdom
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: Used book that is in almost brand-new condition.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.58 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.77 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: As New! Sec 60F3
Seller: Biblio Pursuit, Lenhartsville, PA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.86 + shipping
Condition: New
Description: reissue edition. 57 pages. 6.25x4.75x0.50 inches. In Stock.
Seller: Revaluation Books, Exeter, United Kingdom
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$7.95 + shipping
Condition: New
Description: Special order direct from the distributor
Seller: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, Canada
Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$8.97 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: As New! Z3A
Seller: Biblio Pursuit, Lenhartsville, PA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$11.95 + shipping
Condition: New
Description: Special order item direct from the distributor
Seller: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, Canada
Price: US$40.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Near VG. 8vo, 40pp, stapled wrappers. Early issue of this important and overlooked L.A. little magazine from the era just before the emergence of the Beat writers into national prominence. This issue includes an interesting review of the early Pocket Poets Series titles (including remarks on Howl) by Thomas McGrath, plus work by Philip Whalen, Harry Hooton, Carl Larsen, et al. Unmarked copy, spine has surface splitting (not torn), staples have some rust.
Seller: Philip Smith, Bookseller, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl; and Other Poems. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo, 44pp; printed wrappers, stapled. Number four in the Pocket Poets series. Early printings have become uncommon.
Seller: Locus Solus Rare Books (ABAA, ILAB), Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Description: 1st Edition Clamshell Collector's Case. No Binding. Custom Clamshell Case. Ginsberg, Allen. HOWL AND OTHER POEMS. Custom Clamshell Case [Not A Book] White title & rules stamped on a black cloth spine over black custom handmade black marbled paper sides, black velour interior. A superb case for the Modern Masterpiece in very fine condition.
Seller: TBCL The Book Collector's Library, Montreal, QC, Canada
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Fourth printings, some tanning and a smudge on the rear cover.
Seller: Braintree Book Rack, Cohasset, MA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen.. Howl and Other Poems.. City Lights Books [1956], San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$345.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: The Fourth Printing, undated. Issued as Number 4 in the publisher's Pocket Poets Series. Cook 3. About Fine in black and white stapled wrappers. Small smooth crease lower front corner. 44pp. with Introduction by William Carlos Williams. Q19756
Seller: Compass Rose Books, ABAA-ILAB, Kensington, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: Broadside (14" x 22"), printed in red and blue on white card stock. In addition to writing poetry, Margolis was the editor/publisher of the Miscellaneous Man, a Beat Generation magazine and lesser known defendant in the 1957 obscenity trial which made Allen Ginsberg's Howl famous. A month before they seized Howl, U.S. Customs officials seized Safford Chamberlain's story "Our Kind of Love," which was published in the magazine's 10th issue (January 1957). This, along with Gil Orlovitz's The Statement of Erika Keith and Other Stories, Poems, and a Play (Miscellaneous Man, Numbers 11-12) and Howl, which were purchased at City Lights Bookstore by plainclothes police officers, were at the heart of the obscenity trial. Leslie Woolf Hedley (1921-2013), an accomplished writer and poet, was the publisher of the other sponsor of this reading, inferno. The Bay Area poetry journal was printed in eleven issues in the 1950s. The Town Hall Theatre was in operation from 1955 to 1959. It is best known as the location on March 18, 1956 where the earliest known recordings of "Howl" was made. The broadside was likely posted to advertise the event. It has the remnants of non-archival scotch tape in two spots, a bit of staining, and some general wear. A rare survivor with no copies recorded in OCLC or available in the marketplace.
Seller: johnson rare books & archives, ABAA, Covina, CA, U.S.A.
Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Bin 4 (Long Case). First edition, second printing (Second Edition on the back cover). White paste-on cover label is toned along the spine. Label is just starting to peel off. Lucien Carr omitted from the dedication page.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Allen Ginsberg. Howl 1st Edition / 2nd Printing by Allen Ginsberg 1956. City Lights Books, 1956.
Price: US$465.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: This book is in Good condition. The book is bound in it original soft cover boards. There is a light stain on the left side of the front cover. There are no signatures, bookplates or markings of any kind. The pages are clean and free of any foxing. This is the Second Edition as stated on the rear cover, printed in 1956. A rare find in any condition.
Seller: The Lion's End, Antiquarian Books, North Miami, FL, U.S.A.
Allen Ginsberg. Howl. City Lights, 1956.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Second printing of the defining poem of the Beat Generation. Following the initial print run of 1,000 copies in 1956, Howl went into a second printing six months later in a run of 1,500. Upon arrival to the U.S. (it was printed by the English printer Villiers in London), customs officials seized 520 copies on grounds of obscenity. Publisher and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, along with City Lights Bookstore manager Shigeyoshi Murao, were then arrested and charged with disseminating obscene literature. This led to the widely publicized obscenity trail which Ferlinghetti, defended by the ACLU, won. Due to the number of seized copies, the second printing of Howl is in effect more scarce than the first. San Francisco: City Lights, 1956. Original black paper wrappers overprinted in light blue, with white hand-pasted wrap-around paper label printed in black; pp. 44. The wrap-around label was used only on the first and second printings. A very good copy showing traces of shelfwear, minor toning, light wave to front wrap near near the top, tiny stain to title page. A very presentable copy.
Seller: Kevin Sell, The Rare Book Sleuth, IOBA, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$859.61 + shipping
Description: 44 pp Second edition of the book, also in 1956, the first year of publication. Identical to first edition despite "second edition" printed in blue on the back of the book and the missign mention of Lucien Carr in the dedication. Printed in England at the Press of Villiers Publications, Holloway, London. Very fine copy with only slight yellowed back due to age. Someone presented the book to the pre-owner and wrote a dedication on page three (title page). Please feel free to ask for images. Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 550
Seller: Antiquariat Willi Braunert, München, Germany
Allen Ginsberg. Howl and other Poems. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$1234.56 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: CLEAN fine 1956 second edition paperpack.
Seller: Wm Burgett Bks and Collectibles, san diego, CA, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. HOWL and other poems (signed & doodled). City Lights Books, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$1475.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Wraps. - SIGNED / INSCRIBED - City Lights Books, San Francisco (1956) 1969. 16mo 44 pp. Signed First Edition, 21st printing from 1969. 186,000 copies were printed in-between the 1st printing in October 1956 and this copy, the 21st printing in June 1969. This copy is signed and inscribed by Allen Ginsberg. This date coincides with Allen Ginsberg's book signing and reading at the Boulder Public Library. An original flyer of this event will be included in the sale. the flyer shows the same date/location as the date and location in the book. The original flyer will come folded. The book shows general handling and wear around the edges and lightest soiling. Allen Ginsberg has SIGNED and INSRIBED the title page: For __ __ , Allen Ginsberg. Allen Ginsberg also dated this and included the location, Boulder Colorado. In addition to this, Allen Ginsberg also drew a sketch turning the O in HOWL into a daisy or sunflower. Very faint small stain at top edge along multiple page tops. $1.00 price intact on back cover. A matching price is lightly written in pen on the upper right corner of the 1st page. As for the event, on Wednesday November 10, 1982 the Boulder Colorado Public Library hosted a lecture presented by the Naropa Institute. Naropa's Free Lecture Series: Hidden Knowledge/Public Insight featured Allen Ginsberg sharing a social literary history of 3 decades spanning the 1940s - 1960s. Some of the topics that were touched upon were Sex Liberation, Psychedelics, Cosa Nostra Porn, BeBop, Bohemian Grass, Meditative Practices, Beat - Hip-Me Generation etc. etc. A most special night rivaled by a most special tight copy of the 20th century's most famous poem, signed, inscribed and doodled by Allen Ginsberg that same evening.
Seller: Medium Rare Books, Mountainside, NJ, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl. City Lights, 1956.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: GOOD+ Covers are soiled, hinges have been repaired. First issue. Lucien Carr is listed on the dedication page and there is a period after the word 'Harlem' on the back panel. Front cover has upper and lower tips missing.
Seller: Westsider Rare & Used Books Inc., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A rare reel-to-reel tape in original labeled box containing Ginsberg reading his poetry including his best known poem, HOWL. Per our research, the first historic reading of Howl took place at the historic 1955 reading at San Francisco's SIX GALLERY for which no known recordings exist. The second reading was a February 1956 reading at Reed College in Portland (of which one known copy exists in the college's institutional holdings); and then this third known public reading was done on October 25, 1956 and is offered here in the original reel-to-reel format and labeled box. It has become almost cliche to talk about the beats and their influence on the greater literary and cultural zeitgeist, but it is no stretch of the imagination to cite Howl as one of the most iconic poems of the 20th century and any early recording of his reading of it must be viewed with more than a little reverence. We have not played the tape, but it appears to still be in clean playable condition. The box has a small inked name to the back cover; otherwise it is in exemplary condition and has accomplished its mission of protecting the tape within. The City Lights edition of Howl was published in or around September of 1956.
Seller: Derringer Books, Member ABAA, Avon, CT, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen.. Howl and Other Poems.. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$3200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Second Printing with "Second Edition" printed on rear cover. This is the issue seized by U.S. Customs at San Francisco on its way from the Printer in London; hence, due to the destruction of many of the copies, decidedly scarcer even than the first printing. A beautiful, unequivocally Fine copy in black stapled wrappers with white printed wraparound pastedown (which conceals the staples). No wear. No soil. No tears or creases or dog-ears. No toning. 44pp., without Lucien Carr's name on the dedication. Laid in is a photocopy of the Poetry (Chicago) Magazine open letter from Henry Rago (Editor) to Lawrence Ferlinghetti informing him that the book has been approved for review in a subsequent issue. Cook Number Four ff. Scarce condition copy. Q13282
Seller: Compass Rose Books, ABAA-ILAB, Kensington, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first printing, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Publisher's black wraps printed in blue with white wraparound printed in black. Very Good. Wraps toned and slightly wavy, former owner name to copyright page, pages toned. An undisputed cornerstone of beat poetry, Ginsberg's initial inspiration came from a terrifying vision he had during a San Francisco peyote trip. The poem defined a generation.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$4000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Publisher's black wraps printed in blue with white wraparound printed in black. Very Good. toning and light soiling to wraps, bottom corner lightly bumped. An undisputed cornerstone of beat poetry, Ginsberg's initial inspiration came from a terrifying vision he had during a San Francisco peyote trip. The poem defined a generation.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$4000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Publisher's black wraps printed in blue with white wraparound printed in black. Near Fine with toning, light lifting to bottom corner of wrap-around band at rear cover, former owner name and date to title page, small area of wear at staple and verso of front wrap, pages lightly thumbed. An undisputed cornerstone of beat poetry, Ginsberg's initial inspiration came from a terrifying vision he had during a San Francisco peyote trip. The poem defined a generation.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
GINSBERG, Allen.. Howl and Other Poems.. San Francisco: The City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956, 1956.
Price: US$4491.43 + shipping
Description: First published edition, first printing, with the spelling "Lucien Carr" in the dedication, and the eighth line of the second paragraph on the rear cover beginning "Harlem." (with a period rather than comma). A landmark collection, Howl is one of the principal works of literature that launched the Beat Generation. It was Ginsberg's first regularly published book, and was printed in a run of an estimated 1,500 copies. Duodecimo. Original stiff black wrappers, wire-stitched as issued, white hand-pasted wrap-around paper label printed in black. Wraparound label foxed, a couple of corners lightly creased, a very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: This is a very good copy of the true First State of the First Edition (with the name "Lucien Carr" ?later removed ?on the dedication page). There is some faint staining to the white front cover panel and to the title page, which is SIGNED and dated in ink: "Allen Ginsberg, ?74" beneath a drawing by Ginsberg of the sun and a large flower that utilizes the "O" in "Howl" as its corolla. Perhaps the most important volume of American poetry of the twentieth century, signed and uniquely decorated by the author. First Edition/First State (1 of 1000 copies).
Seller: CHARTWELL BOOKSELLERS, NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$20000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Signed by Allen Ginsberg and inscribed to a former owner on the title page, Ginsberg has also adorned the page fully with illustrations and written "Viva banjo". Bound in publisher's original stapled black wraps printed in grey with with white paste-on printed in black. Very Good with light toning, light rubbing to wraps and slight creases throughout. A lovely copy of the poem that defined a generation and an undisputed cornerstone of beat poetry.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. HOWL AND OTHER POEMS. The City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$25000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Rare signed first edition of HOWL, inscribed in the year of publication, likely at one of Ginsberg's most infamous readings. The most likely opportunities for Ginsberg to sign copies of HOWL in 1956 were few and far between. First, the book was published late in the year. While Ferlinghetti sent Ginsberg "a few advance copies" in August of that year (Morgan, I GREET YOU, 5), and a small number of copies inscribed in September are known (the Sept. 17th issue of PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY lists the official publication date as Sept. 1st), HOWL seems to have only really begun to be distributed in October. Again, according to PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, "[t]he first edition passed through U.S. Customs in October, 1956" (April 29th 1957). In addition, both Gary Snyder and Louis Ginsberg report receiving copies they had ordered at the start of that month, likely from the earliest copies received at City Lights. Morgan's bibliography, however, sets the date of publication as Nov. 5th, which coincides with the book's first notice, again in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY ("[b]itterly impassioned"), but which further suggests HOWL's distribution wasn't really happening until well into October. And it was during October that the poet gave his only two public readings before the end of the year. The first was Oct. 21st, when both he and Gregory Corso read at the Poetry Center at San Francisco State (Corso's first public reading). But curiously Ginsberg did not read from HOWL that evening despite a large and expectant crowd - more than 500 people - and "[i]mmediately following the reading," both poets "were anxious to get on the road" (Morgan, CELEBRATE, 224). The pair were hitchhiking south on their way to Mexico (where they would spend the month of November), but had an important stop in Los Angeles, where they had a reading scheduled for October 30th. Sponsored by the literary magazine, COASTLINES, this small reading (held in a boarding house) would become one of Ginsberg's most famous, second only to the Six Gallery in terms of notoriety. The best account of the event is from Lawrence Lipton's 1959 memoir THE HOLY BARBARIANS. According to Lipton, Ginsberg was "reading from the book [HOWL], which had just come out," but was repeatedly interrupted by a drunk in the audience who jeered and heckled Ginsberg throughout. Ginsberg finished his portion of the event, but the matter came to a head when Corso got up to read. The drunk renewed his jeers and interruptions, eventually challenging Corso to a fight. At this point, Ginsberg stood up and countered that if the heckler wanted to do something truly brave, he would take off all his clothes. "The poet always stands naked before the world," Ginsberg explained and proceeded to disrobe until he was standing stark naked before the drunk, now stunned into silence. From there the drunk backed down and even reportedly asked Ginsberg after the reading where he could get a copy of HOWL for himself. No matter where it was signed, however, copies signed in the year of publication are quite rare. We trace only a handful inscribed in 1956, with most of those being associations of one form or another. A significant copy from early in the life of this landmark poem that along with Kerouac's ON THE ROAD and Burroughs's NAKED LUNCH form the cornerstone of the Beat movement. It remains Ginsberg's most enduring work. Original stiff black stapled wrappers with pasted white printed wraparound label, as issued. One of a thousand copies. Signed and dated by Ginsberg on the title page: "Allen Ginsberg / Oct 1956." Spine toned, as common. Mild soil, rubbing, edgewear. In a custom, full black goat-skin, clamshell box.
Seller: Brian Cassidy Books at Type Punch Matrix, Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$25000.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Signed by the author Allen Ginsberg and dated by him in the year of publication: ÒAllen Ginsberg Sept. 8, 1956.Ó With an inscription just below from Ginsberg to Beat collector and photographer Marshall Clements: ÒFor Marshall Clements much thanks for the relief. A.G. New Years Month, Jan. 7, 1964.Ó Also signed by Marshall Clements at the top of the same page, the bookÕs dedication page. City Lights Pocket Poets Series: Number Four. With the two page introduction by William Carlos Williams. Paperbound, stapled black and white wrappers. With a faint hint of dust soiling to the covers, else a fine copy. Price 75 cents on rear cover. Printed at the Press of Villiers Publications, Holloway, London, England. Enclosed in a custom slipcase with ÒHowl. Allen GinsbergÓ on a paper label affixed to the front and with the same at the spine. Marshall Clements was a noted collector and scholar of Beat Generation works and was the photographer for ÔKerouac's TownÕ by Barry Gifford (1977) - a special look at Jack KerouacÕs hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, published on the second anniversary of his death.
Seller: James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., ABAA, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$28873.47 + shipping
Description: First edition, sole impression, one of an estimated 53 copies, the author's second publication, and a renowned Ginsberg rarity, one of few copies remaining in private hands. This copy is signed twice by Ginsberg - once in his contemporary 1956 hand, and additionally inscribed "This copy circa 1986 belongs to Donald R. Reisfield / Allen Ginsberg / Rutgers March 16 / AH", both on the first text page. Siesta in Xbalba is a truly rare Ginsberg item, self-printed and self-published in the summer of 1956 while aboard a Navy ship off the coast of Alaska, before he returned to San Francisco and realized his literary destiny and fame as the author of Howl, which was published in November 1956 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights. Upon printing this work, Ginsberg sent 13 copies to his publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, instructing him on 4 August 1956 to "[k]eep one yourself and put the other dozen on sale at 50 cents each if you think you can sell them. Give the proceeds to Mike McClure for us for Moby Magazine. You can advertise them as a charity type shot for Moby. I made up another forty and am keeping them or sending them out as whim strikes me" (Morgan p. 5). Ginsberg sent one such copy to his father, Louis, who responded encouragingly, "It's very interesting with cinematic flashbacks of scenes and people. There is entangled in your lines a nostalgia for the past and for ruins that make a pulpit for mortality. Congratulations!" (Miles, p. 206). Siesta in Xbalba is Ginsberg's second publication, preceded only by a printing of Howl in May 1956 in 25 copies. The poem, written during his travels in Mexico in 1954, is dedicated to Karena Shields, a historian and anthropologist whom Ginsberg met in the Palenque ruins during this trip. Shields lived on the cocoa plantation on which the ruins stood, and had written a number of scholarly papers on Mayan culture, and a popular book, Three in the Jungle (1944). Shields had lived in Palenque since the age of three and had discovered a number of lost cities in the area, meaning that "she was just the sort of person Allen needed to meet in order to see the real Mexico and when she invited him to visit her cocoa finca, he readily accepted" (Miles, p. 156). Siesta in Xbalba is a considerable rarity in the Ginsberg canon. Around 53 copies were produced - Ginsberg cites 53 in the above letter to Ferlinghetti, though 52 in another letter to Kerouac, which his bibliographer Morgan cites. The true figure is certainly not far removed, give or take a copy or two. Of these 33 are now held institutionally, and many others must have been lost leaving precious few available to collectors. A bare handful are recorded at auction or in the trade. This copy was sold in the Parke-Benet sale, "Modern and Avant-garde First Editions", 14 April 1970, lot 67; a priced catalogue is included, and original auction house envelope. Miles, Allen Ginsberg: Beat Poet, 1989; The Selected Correspondence of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg 1955-1997, 2015; Morgan A2. Small quarto (204 x 165 mm), pp. 22. Mimeographed typescript, printed on both sides, stapled as issued. Together with auction catalogue (see note). Housed in a black quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Slight rusting around staples, faint soiling to initial and terminal page, minor orange crayon mark to former, notwithstanding an excellent copy of a scarce and fragile production.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$30000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Signed by Allen Ginsberg on the title page and inscribed "Allen Ginsberg - Dec. 15, 1975, G.B.M. - for Kirby Congdon - Ah." with doodles of a smiling sun and flower. Publisher's black wraps printed in blue with white wraparound printed in black. Very Good+ with light toning, foxing and staining. Minor toning to contents. An important association copy of this undisputed cornerstone of Beat poetry, Ginsberg's initial inspiration came from a terrifying vision he had during a San Francisco peyote trip. Inscribed warmly to fellow poet Kirby Congdon (1924-2023). Like Ginsberg Congdon was openly gay at a time when few people dared to be, and was a flamboyant motorcyclist and leather aficionado who mingled regularly in the Beat community. He published Interim Books, Cycle Press, and the lit mag Magazine, eventually returning to Key West, Florida and becoming its first poet laureate.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Pocket Bookshop, San Francisco, 1956.
Price: US$35000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear cover. Signed by Allen Ginsberg and inscribed to a former owner on the title page; additionally signed by this book's publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti on the copyright page, and by William S. Burroughs, Carl Solomon and Gregory Corso on the dedication page. Bound in publisher's original stapled black wraps printed in grey with with white paste-on printed in black. Very Good with light toning and light rubbing to covers with a small abrasion to the top right of the front cover of the white paste-on. Pencil notations to text. The poem that defined a generation and an undisputed cornerstone of beat poetry, signed by five heavy-weights of that era.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$50000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: A remarkable Association copy of the 1956 correct 1st edition. This copy not only conforms to all the original issue points but is in beautiful, near-pristine condition. Furthermore, THIS COPY IS SIGNED BY 5 OF THE KEY FIGURES IN THE BOOK'S GENESIS: 1) ALLEN GINSBERG (on the title page); 2) LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI (on the copyright page); 3) LUCIEN CARR (on the dedication page); 4) WILLIAM BURROUGHS (also on the dedication page); and 5) CARL SOLOMON (on the first blank endpaper). In other words, this copy is signed by the book's author, its publisher and by 3 of its 5 dedicatees (only Jack Kerouac's and Neal Cassady's signatures are missing from this copy). Notably, of the 5 signatures, all critically important to the birth and evolution of "Howl", Lucien Carr's appears to be the most elusive. We know that Carr's relationship with the Beats grew tense early on and that he insisted his name be removed from all subsequent printings of "Howl". We also know that Carr himself introduced William Burroughs (an old friend from their St. Louis upbringing) to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg --and that Carr's infamous career at Columbia (as documented in the 2013 film "Kill Your Darlings") saw him as a very important muse to this budding literary scene. A fresh, tight copy, immaculate internally and easily Near Fine overall, while legitimately approaching Fine (even down to its unrusted staple). Also includes a hand-made chemise (signed by Ginsberg at a later date), a folded cardboard reproduction of the book's front cover which, among other things, capably protects the fragile 1st edition and no doubt helps to explain its remarkable condition. Of the 1,000 copies of "Howl" initially published, this must certainly rank as among the very most historic and significant.
Seller: APPLEDORE BOOKS, ABAA, WACCABUC, NY, U.S.A.