Rare books from Philip Smith, Bookseller

New York: The Dead Language, 1962. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. Square 12mo, 28pp, stapled wrappers. A rare publication of early Piero Heliczer poems from The Dead Language (the pioneering avant-garde press run by Heliczer and Angus MacLise). Includes a note on Helczer by Anselm Hollo (dated November 1962). Unmarked copy, typical light chipping wear to extremities.

San Francisco: Zephyrus Image, 1972. 1st edition. No Binding. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 8pp, self-cover. Bible paper variant (other copies issued on newsprint). Rare and enigmatic 1972 Zephyrus Image production, released to coincide with the presidential election. Contributors are thanked in a list, but specific works are not credited. Unmarked copy, horizontal fold (with a little associated toning), a bit of wear to edges.

San Francisco: Beatitude Magazine, 1960. 1st edition. Soft cover. Good /No Jacket (as issued). Good+. 4to, 23 leaves (printed one-side; one duplicated), stapled front wrapper. The rare final issue of the first phase of this central Beat Generation mimeo mag. Unmarked copy, tanning and some stains to front wrapper.

Chico, CA: John Gardner, 1961. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG+. 8vo, 124pp, printed wrappers. Rare first issue of this important literary review edited by novelist John Gardner, includes early work by a range of important contributors. Dated Spring 1961 on opening page, Summer 1961 on spine. Unmarked copy, light wear.

Albany, NY: State University of New York Press (SUNY Press), 1997. 1st edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG+. 8vo, xxx+610pp, pictorial boards (no jacket, as issued). Massive and groundbreaking study of this important African-American spiritual practitioner. Includes index, notes and bibliography. An unmarked copy of the legitimate original 1997 hardcover first printing (not the later print-on-demand version) from the collection of poet and esotericist David Meltzer. Minor outer wear and erased resale markings to front free endpaper.

New York: The Floating Bear, 1962. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 10pp (mimeographed). This issue of the seminal sixties underground periodical Floating Bear was guest-edited by Billy Linich (Billy Name) of Andy Warhol's Factory; many contributions from and references to the 1962 artistic avant-garde. Brief pieces by Ray Johnson and George Brecht; quotes attributed to Andy Warhol, Leo Castelli, Larry Rivers, and others appear in a parodic collection of art-world sayings. Issue also includes a brief advertisement for the Fluxus Anthology (available from LaMonte Young) as well as one for a tape of Young with Angus MacLise, Tony Conrad, and Marian Zazeela. This copy, addressed to Canadian poet David Cull, is sound with a bit of edge wear and soil.

Buffalo, NY: LeMar International, 1969. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 24pp, self-cover. The rare second issue of this pioneering journal of marijuana reform, edited by Mike Aldrich and Ed Sanders. Includes a cover photo by Leni Sinclair, letters from Tim Leary and others, artwork by Bern Porter, other interesting content. Solid unmarked copy, light staining at spine and a little spotting.

Mill Valley, CA: Amphoria, Inc. / LeMar International, 1971. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 24pp, self-cover. The rare penultimate issue of this pioneering journal of marijuana reform, edited by Mike Aldrich and Ed Sanders. Includes coverage of the Living Theatre, John Sinclair, et al. Solid unmarked copy, light outer spotting and some general wear.

Buffalo, NY: LeMar International, 1969. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG+. 4to, 24pp, self-cover. The rare third issue of this pioneering journal of marijuana reform, edited by Mike Aldrich and Ed Sanders. Includes a cover photo of Tim Leary, other interesting content. Solid unmarked copy, light outer spotting.

New York: The Century Co, 1932. 1st edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Fair. VG+ in Fair dw. 8vo, x+308pp, green cloth stamped in gold, printed dustwrapper. Warmly INSCRIBED by Dale Carnegie on the FFEP in the month of publication (February 1932) to Anna Gundaker, wife of prominent Rotary founder Guy Gundaker. Else an unmarked copy of the first edition of this beloved presidential biography by Carnegie, which helped developed his profoundly influential techniques of motivation. Retains most of the original jacket (which has some losses at head and tail of spine and other extremities); book is clean with a little sunning to formerly exposed portions of cloth.

New York: The Floating Bear, 1961. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 12pp (mimeographed), corner-stapled. A rare early issue of this seminal 1960s little magazine. Includes an excerpt from The System of Dante's Hell by Jones and Roosevelt After Inauguration by William Burroughs (Schottlaender v4.C25; Shoaf III-25). An unmarked copy, never folded or mailed, with stains to back cover and a little toning.

Boulder, CO: The Kavyayantra Press, Naropa Institute, 1993. 1st edition. No Binding. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). Near VG. 4to ragged-edge leaf broadside. The rare Broadside #1 from The Kavyayantra Press, featuring an excerpt from a lecture by artist, filmmaker, folk music anthologist, and Thelemic Saint Harry Everett Smith. Some light spotting.

New York: Siamese Banana Press, 1972. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 18 leaves, stapled front wrapper. A peak-period amalgam of cigarette-focused creativity from Joe Brainard. Includes contributions from James Schuyler, Ron Padgett, and others. Unmarked copy, a bit of spotting, wear and staple rust.

New York: Adventures in Poetry, 1971. 1st edition. Soft cover. Very Good/No Jacket (as issued). VG. 4to, 60pp, stapled wrappers. An unmarked copy of this rare work (1 of 500 unsigned copies, from a total edition of 536), from the collection of Opal Louis Nations; a bit of reading wear and minor staple rust.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943. 1st edition. Hardcover. Good /No Jacket. Good+. 8vo, x+194pp, grey cloth library binding stamped in black and white, no dustwrapper. Ex-library copy of Whitney's third published novel, for a young adult audience. Library binding, pocket, stamps and ownership punches; main text unaffected with a bit of general wear and soil.