New York: Viking 1978, first U.S. printing, hardbound in dust jacket. First published as Oeuvre Croisée in French (Paris: Flammarion 1976). A collaboration between Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Burroughs, known to have worked more productively in collaboration with others, wrote that the title stemmed from Think and Grow Rich, a twentieth-century guide to salesmanship by Napoleon Hill, who counseled that when two minds work together there is always a third one that results. Others have interpreted the third mind as coming from the interaction of writing and visual art.
_____ uncorrected proof copy, bound in wraps.
London: John Calder 1979, first British printing, hardbound in dust jacket.
_____ simultaneous British printing in wraps.
New York: Seaver Books 1982, bound in wraps. Unusually scarce in softcover. Curiously, this title has never been reprinted in English post-1982 though the French edition was reprinted as recently as 1998.
Even the 1998 re-printed French version is pricey. I found a copy at 50 euros. Not being a collector per se – I just want to read it – that’s a bit steep for me. Has anyone heard any rumors of this being re-printed one day?
There must be an enormous interest out there for such a seminal Burroughs/Gysin text. Burroughs appears to have regarded it as one of his most important books so it’s odd that more affordable editions aren’t available. There is a PDF version out there so at least the text is available, I just prefer reading physical books….