A Coney Island of the Mind
San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2005. Kitaj, R. B. Limited Edition. Hardcover. One of 300 copies, elephant folio size, [48] pp., signed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and R. B. Kitaj, with slipcase. Fine. Item #CNBR487
One of the landmarks of Beat Generation poetry and antidotes to Eisenhower's America, first published in 1958 by New Directions. This handsomely produced edition by Andrew Hoyem, in collaboration with artist B.J. Kiaj, reprints the important first section of that collection, the sequence of twenty-nine poems for which the book bears its title.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), American poet and artist, was a co-founder of San Francisco's landmark progressive book store and publisher City Lights, and was distinctly associated with the Beat movement in San Francisco. This is his most famous work; it has been translated into nine languages, and has sold over a million copies, likely a response to the anti-establishment spirit it possesses.
Figurative artist R. B. Kitaj (1932-2007) prepared two charcoal drawings to accompany this edition: a portrait of the poet in profile, and a "portrayal of the poet on a plummeting roller coaster, his hair and beard flying, observed by an all-seeing eye, that is printed on the cover." The whole work is a tender tribute to the poet and his "durability", whose work continues to influence and inspire readers all over the world.
___DESCRIPTION: Quarter grey cloth with cream paper boards illustrated by R. B. Kitaj, with title in black on the rear board, cream paper spine label with black lettering, cream endpapers, frontispiece a portrait of the author by Kitaj, Goudy Light and Goudy Heavy types, mouldmade Hahnemühle Bugra paper, elephant folio size (16" by 10"), [48] pp., one of 300 copies, this number 278, signed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and R. B. Kitaj at the colophon. In a slipcase covered in cream paper with grey cloth edges, with titling on the front and rear boards curved in the shape of a roller coaster.
___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The slipcase is fine, strong and sturdy, clean, without wear.
___CITATION: Arion Press Catalogue, no. 74.
___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please contact us for details.
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Price: $700.00