Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Lew Welch. Wobbly Rock. The Auerhahn Press, 1960.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Signed by Welch on the verso of the front wrap, and thus rare. His first book, one of 500 copies. A very clean example with only a light crease to the upper right corner of front cover and one pinhead-sized black spot to the left of center. No rusting to staples. The signature is in Lew's usual calligraphic style (the influence of Lloyd Reynolds at Reed College) and "Welch" is underlined with a flourish. // Wood River Books specializes in place-based and environmental literature, with a special passion for association copies and notable inscriptions.
Seller: Rural Hours (formerly Wood River Books), La Grande, OR, U.S.A.
WELCH, LEW. WOBBLY ROCK [SIGNED]. Auerhahn Press, San Francisco, 1960.
Price: US$1695.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: The poet's first book, one of only 500 copies. First edition in saddle-stapled printed wrappers. Handset in Caslon and Garamond types and printed on a Hartford letterpress. Illustrated by Robert LaVigne. Dedication: "For Gary Snyder / I think I'll be the Buddha of this place / and sat himself / down." SIGNED BY LEW WELCH in his calligraphic style. A fine copy. Provenance: Peter Howard, Serendipity Books, Berkeley. "Lew Welch was a beat poet and part of the trio that included Philip Whalen and Gary Snyder. Kerouac recognized Lew's poetry and genious and said so in print. Lew Welch mysteriously disappeared during a stay at Gary Snyder's house in 1972. To this day he remains disappeared and his disappearance has never been solved. He wrote little in his life but what he wrote remains and it ranks with the best Beat Literature."
Seller: RON RAMSWICK BOOKS, IOBA, CARLSBAD, CA, U.S.A.
Welch, Lew; Gary Snyder (signed). Wobbly Rock. Auerhahn Press, San Francisco, 1960.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Signed by the book's dedicatee on the title page: "Gary Snyder, for Howard." Scarce signed by Snyder, scarcer than Welch's own signature. Welch's dedication in the book reads: "For Gary Snyder / 'I think I'll be the Buddha of this place' / and sat himself / down." Welch and Snyder's close relationship is well known: They went to school together at Reed with Philip Whalen, all of them studying under Lloyd Reynolds; they developed as poets together and were pivotal to the Beat movement in the Bay Area; and Welch left a suicide note at his campsite on Snyder's property in the Sierra Foothills in 1971 and was never seen again. Snyder called Welch "the most talented, the golden boy" andhas written several poems about Welch (we recall he also dedicated a later book to Welch, but can't at the moment find out which one). Welch's first book (more like chapbook),Wobbly Rock is a long poem that meditates on Muir Beach and is a premiere example of ecopoetry. 500 copies were printed. With a drawing by R LaVigne. A fine copy with a touch of rusting to staples; still fine.
Seller: Rural Hours (formerly Wood River Books), La Grande, OR, U.S.A.