Reports from the Bibliographic Bunker Jed Birmingham on William S. Burroughs Collecting An Installment in Jed Birmingham’s series on the The Greatest Burroughs Collectors. #4 is Eric Shoaf. Just as serious readers and scholars are inevitably book collectors, so too are bibliographers. Barry Miles is a great Burroughs collector. No doubt so is Brian Schottlaender….
Tag: Eric Shoaf
In Memoriam Eric C. Shoaf
RealityStudio is saddened to note the passing of Eric C. Shoaf on 24 August 2019. He contributed numerous items to RealityStudio, including his entire William Burroughs bibliography. We never met Eric in person but our correspondence with him began in 2005, not long after the founding of the site, and ended only two weeks before…
Interview with Richard Aaron of Am Here Books
Eric C. Shoaf Richard Aaron and William Burroughs arriving in Geneva for the Colloque de Tanger, 1975. Photo by Lilia Aaron What can you tell us about your early years? Born in 1946 in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1957 lived a year in a semi palace on the Bosphorus in Istinye. Here I was first…
Amsterdam Annual
Reports from the Bibliographic Bunker Jed Birmingham on William S. Burroughs Collecting Download a PDF of William Burroughs in the Amsterdam Annual, 1971-1972 Our fearless man exploring the Library of Interzone has emerged from deep within its bowels (where all the good Burroughs shit is, of course) with yet another unrecorded find. Yes, Eric Shoaf…
Collectability in Question? “Letter From A Master Addict”
by Eric C. Shoaf The recent appearance on eBay of the Burroughs offprint “Letter From A Master Addict to Dangerous Drugs” brought reflection. Is this item really as collectible as it would seem? After a bit of consideration, I decided it certainly is, but proceeded to do a little digging. Here’s what I found and…
Anarchy
Reports from the Bibliographic Bunker Jed Birmingham on William S. Burroughs Collecting News Flash!! Eric Shoaf, Burroughs bibliographer extraordinaire, is still out there; he is still searching; he is still finding. In 2018, Shoaf send me a copy of Gonzology: A Hunter Thompson Bibliography. It is an impressive piece of work, with 293 items in…
C Items
Burroughs Contributes to Magazines and Journals by Eric C. Shoaf 1974 1. The Expatriate Review No. 4 (Winter/Spring 1974), Burroughs contributes “Cold Lost Marbles” bound in wraps. 2. National Lampoon February 1974, Burroughs contributes “Strange Sex We Have Known” with co-author Terry Southern, bound in wraps. 3. Rolling Stone Magazine February 28, 1974, Burroughs interviews…
B Items
Burroughs Contributes to Books and Anthologies by Eric C. Shoaf 1974 1. Jean Genet in Tangier by Mohamed Choukri, New York: Ecco 1974, translated by Paul Bowles, first edition, Introduction by Burroughs, hardbound in dust jacket. 2. The Wanderers by Richard Price, New York: Houghton Mifflin 1974, Burroughs contributes a blurb to the front inner…
About Burroughs
Articles and Books About William S. Burroughs by Eric C. Shoaf Items listed here are comprised of interviews with Burroughs, criticism of his writings, stories about him, interactions people had with him, and a catch-all as such for printed material related to Burroughs in some way. The majority of items here are serial titles —…
C Items
Part Two of “Not in Maynard & Miles” by Eric C. Shoaf In many ways, the magazines and serials are much more difficult to document than books because they were so prevalent at the time. Small press publishing took off in the 1960s, and Burroughs would send something from his “word horde” to nearly any…
B Items
Part One of “Not in Maynard & Miles” by Eric C. Shoaf Man Alone: Alienation in Modern Society ed. by Eric and Mary Josephson, (New York: Dell Publishing Inc., 1962), Burroughs contributes “Deposition: Testimony Concerning a Sickness” bound in wraps. Reliefs / Machines: An Exhibition Catalog of Works by Mark Brusse (Arnheim, Holland: Gallery 20,…
Not in Maynard & Miles
The Early Published Burroughs by Eric C. Shoaf The Burroughs bibliography by Maynard & Miles (William S. Burroughs: A Bibliography, 1953-73 by Joe Maynard & Barry Miles, [Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1978], hereinafter referred to as M&M) is subtitled “Unlocking Inspector Lee’s Word Hoard.” And it does just that, gathering the fullness of Burroughs’…
Remembering Jack Kerouac
Louisville: White Fields Press 1994, a broadside with Burroughs’ reflections on his friend Kerouac, along with a photo taken by Allen Ginsberg. Issued in an edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Burroughs. _____ an edition of 49 numbered copies signed by Burroughs. _____ a trade edition of 500 numbered copies. There were also some…
From the Western Lands
Santa Fe: Casa Sin Nombre 1987, broadside print with a photo by Allen Ginsberg, measures 12 x 24 inches. Text is from The Western Lands. Printed in an edition of 750 copies as noted on obverse. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in…
Words of Advice for Young People
Encinitas CA: FreeThought Publications 2001, a small pamphlet printing this text which was previously only available in audio. Issued as FreeThought Flyer #16, there are two photos of Burroughs by Michael Montfort and a drawing by Drew Larson. An edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Montfort. Text on blue paper, bound in lavender wraps,…
The Heroin Drug Cure
County Clair, Ireland: High Five Press [n.d. 2004?], small undated pamphlet prints an excerpt from Naked Lunch, bound in wraps. None had ever appeared before this date, thus conjecture. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online…
Last Words
New York: Grove Press 2000, first printing, hardbound in dust jacket. Front cover with photograph of a funeral card distributed at Burroughs’ Lawrence, Kansas funeral service. Art on the back jacket, endpapers and frontispiece taken from Burroughs’ handwritten notebook journals. Dust jacket blurb reads: “Last Words is unlike anything else in the oeuvre of William…
A Spiritual Exercise
Naropa, CO: Kavyayantra Press 1998, Broadside measuring 12×8 inches reproduces text written on July 21, 1997, just two weeks before Burroughs’ death. Printed in an edition of 200 copies in December 1998. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and…
Word Virus: The William Burroughs Reader
New York: Grove Press 1998, first printing, hardbound in dust jacket with spoken-word CD bound in the rear. Edited by James Grauerholz and Ira Silverberg, this collection skims the best of Burroughs’ works and includes unpublished pieces such as his collaborative novel with Kerouac entitled “And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks.” CD collects…
Concrete and Buckshot
Los Angeles: Smart Art Press 1996, exhibition catalog of Burroughs’ art with text by Burroughs, bound in illustrated wraps. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online courtesy of the author, who retains all rights. Published by…
Pantopon Rose
Charleston WV: Parchment Gallery Graphics 1995, holograph broadside with separate colophon page, issued in folding wrapper in printed envelope, limited to 60 copies signed and numbered by Burroughs. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online courtesy…
My Education
New York: Viking 1995, first printing, hardbound in dust jacket. Part journal, part dream diary, the book explores Burroughs’ provocative ideas on writing, painting, consciousness and creativity. There were at least five printings. _____ Uncorrected Galley Proof in glossy pictorial wraps. London: Picador 1995, first British printing, hardbound in dust jacket. Scary Charles Burn’s color…
Junky, Queer, Naked Lunch
New York: Quality Paperbook Book Club 1995, three novels in one volume available only to book club members, bound in pictorial wraps. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online courtesy of the author, who retains all…
Photos and Remembering Jack Kerouac
Louisville: White Fields Press 1994, stapled pictorial wraps, issued in an edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Burroughs. Photos of Burroughs by Allen Ginsberg, text about Kerouac by Burroughs. _____ an edition of 49 numbered copies signed by Burroughs. _____ 250 copies comprising the trade edition, neither signed nor numbered. This bibliography of A-List…
Painting and Guns
New York: Hanuman Books 1992, first printing in wraps with pictorial dust jacket. A miniature-size book and an unusually cute production for a Burroughs publication. Popular enough for a second print run. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and…
Paper Cloud Thick Pages
Kyoto: Kyoto Shoin Int’l 1992, issued in pictorial boards without dust jacket, color illustrations of paintings and collage art by Burroughs with little text. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online courtesy of the author, who…
X-Ray Man
New York: Water Row/Lococo Mulder 1991, untitled three-color broadside (red, blue & purple on white background). Generally referred to as “X-Ray Man,” it is a figure that repeats in a number of Burroughs art pieces. 9.5 x 13 inches silkscreen print with small embossed lizard figure in lower right corner, edition limited to 178 numbered…
Ghost of Chance
New York: Whitney Museum of Art 1991, first issue of this work in conjunction with the Whitney museum, illustrated with three black and white etchings, one black and white drawing and 10 colored lithographs by George Condo tipped in. An edition of 160 copies signed by Burroughs and Condo. An adventure story set in the…
Seven Deadly Sins
New York: Lococo/Mulder 1991, a signed and numbered limited edition of 150 copies bound in full leather and signed by Burroughs. Cover features an original piece of wood “shotgun art” by Burroughs. Features reproductions of Burroughs’ paintings illustrating the “seven deadly sins,” with text by him. All copies of the book have the printed page…
The Valley
New York: George Mulder Fine Arts 1990, portfolio of etchings by Keith Haring with text by Burroughs, 31 sheets total including 16 signed etchings by Keith Haring, last sheet of text with image by Haring is signed by Burroughs, measures 14 x 12 1/2 inches on Twinrocker handmade paper, hardbound in a red cloth portfolio,…
Clause 27 Is Proposition 6 Is the Whole Tamale
[n.p.]: The Horse Press [n.d. 1989?], small pamphlet is 8 pages and consists of a one-page introduction by Burroughs, 6 pages of text concerning the anti-gay Proposition 6 which is reprinted here. Back of the last page printing a photo of Burroughs in the jungle. The cover features a silhouette of Burroughs in a top…
Interzone
New York: Viking 1989, first US printing, hardbound in dust jacket. Interzone was the working title for the novel finally published as Naked Lunch. Readers will recognize the “interzone” as the dream-like locus of so much of his fiction, an imagined world where the laws of time, space, and conventional human personality are suspended, where…
Tornado Alley
New York: Cherry Valley 1989, an edition of 100 copies signed by Burroughs. Hardbound and issued without a dust jacket. The copies were signed on the title page and were to have been numbered as well, but when book dealer Quill & Brush received their 10 copies for resale they found none were numbered. They…
Apocalypse
New York: G. Mulder 1988, Burroughs contributes texts to Keith Haring’s artwork. An edition of 250 copies comprising the “luxe issue” of 250 copies, hardbound with dust jacket. _____ an edition of 250 copies bound in wraps with dust jacket. Apocalypse Print New York: G. Mulder 1988, broadside printed to publicize the collaborative book, text…
The Western Lands
New York: Viking 1987, the trade edition hardbound in dust jacket with full wraparound cover art by Deborah Pinkney. The Western Lands is the final volume of a trilogy coming after Cities of the Red Night, and The Place of the Dead Roads. The title refers to the final state to which the souls of…
The Cat Inside
New York: Grenfell Press 1986, issued in an edition of 18 copies bound in full limp vellum with a drawing by Brion Gysin stamped in gold on the front cover. Text by Burroughs with drawings by Gysin and printed in two colors using the duotone process on a hand letterpress. All copies signed by Burroughs…
The Adding Machine
London: John Calder 1985, first British printing preceding the American publication, hardbound in dust jacket. A collection of previously published essays. _____ simultaneous softbound issue, in pictorial wraps. New York: Seaver Books 1986, first US printing, hardbound in dust jacket. Adds the work “Bugger the Queen” which was, understandably, left out of the British edition….
Queer
New York: Viking 1985, first US printing, hardbound in dust jacket. An early autobiographical manuscript published some thirty years after being written. _____ Uncorrected Galley Proof in wraps including a dust jacket with a different design from the final issue. London: Picador 1985, first British printing, hardbound in dust jacket, rather scarce for a trade…
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Bonn: Expanded Media Editions 1984, bound in wraps. Contains a speech delivered by Burroughs in 1980 at the occasion of the Institute of Ecotechnics’ 1980 Planet Earth Conference in Aix-en-Provence. Speech transcript by Terry Wilson. Photographs by Udo Breger, Y. Fujii and C. Kohlhofer. Bilingual edition with text in English and German. The book’s contents…
New York Inside Out
Toronto: Skyline Press 1984, text by Burroughs and photos by Robert Walker, hardbound in dust jacket. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published online courtesy of the author, who retains all rights. Published by RealityStudio in April…
Ruski
New York: Hand Job Press 1984, an edition of 500 numbered copies bound in wraps. An espionage story about a cat, with references to The Great Gatsby. New York: Odd-Job Press [n.d.], an apparent piracy of the Hand Job edition, this one differs in that it is bound using handmade paper wraps and printed on…
The Burroughs File
San Francisco: City Lights 1984, an edition of 300 copies hardbound in black cloth covered boards with gilt spine lettering and dust jacket. An anthology of writing and photographs. _____ simultaneous wraps issue. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist…
The Place of Dead Roads
New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston 1983, an edition of 300 copies signed by Burroughs, issued in slipcase without dust jacket. Burroughs enjoyed reading about the American West of frontier days, and he uses that setting as the basis and background, and in a sense the springboard, for this book. _____ the trade edition, full…
A William Burroughs Reader
London: Picador 1982, an original British anthology with an original introductory essay by John Calder and a number of photographs, published only in the UK and only in pictorial wraps. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and is published…
Mummies
Dusseldorf & New York: Edition Kaldeway 1982, Illustrated with 5 etched plates signed by Carl Apfelschnitt, hand-made orange tissue guards, original black cloth, printed paper spine label, bound by Christian Zwang. An edition of 5 copies thus. _____ an edition of 65 copies unsigned. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from…
Sinki’s Sauna
New York: Pequod Press 1982, small pamphlet in gray wraps, limited to 500 numbered copies in gray wraps, scarce. A short story about a cat. New York, NY [n.d.], an apparent piracy of the Pequod edition, printed on bond and bound in beautiful handmade paper but really just a photocopy of the original work. Colophon…
Early Routines
Santa Barbara: Cadmus 1981, an edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Burroughs. A collection of routines (Burroughs’ term for skits or scenarios) from back in the 1940s and 50s, these show just how funny Burroughs could be when engaged in free-form extemporizing. _____ an edition of 125 copies signed by Burroughs, bound in cloth…
The Streets of Chance
New York: Red Ozier Press 1981, an edition of 160 copies, each signed by Burroughs and the illustrator Howard Buchwald. The text is an excerpt from the 1968 UK edition of The Soft Machine. Bound in cloth covered boards without dust jacket as issued. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from…
Cities of the Red Night
New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston 1981, an edition of 500 copies signed by Burroughs issued in a slipcase without dust jacket. There was also apparently a signed and lettered edition of this work, assumed to be 26 copies, which is not mentioned on the limitation page, but lettered copies have appeared for sale. Burroughs’…
Three Novels
New York: Grove Press/Black Cat 1980, first printing, includes Soft Machine, Nova Express, and The Wild Boys bound in pictorial wraps. New York: Evergreen 1988, a larger-size edition of the Black Cat printing, bound in wraps. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in…
Wouldn’t You Polish Pine Floors…
West Branch IA: Toothpaste Press 1979, a broadside published for Bookslinger in an edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Burroughs. Black print on red paper. _____ an edition of 125 copies signed and numbered by Burroughs. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs…
Blade Runner (a movie)
Berkeley: Blue Wind Press 1979, an edition of 100 signed and numbered copies hardbound in dust jacket. A treatment for a science fiction film, although not the one that eventually came out with that title. _____ Advance Review Copy ink-stamped with handwritten info concerning publication date, price, etc. Dated 6-21-79, bound in wraps. _____ the…
Doctor Benway
Santa Barbara: Bradford Morrow 1979, an edition of 26 lettered copies hardbound in dust jacket which were hors commerce, each signed Burroughs. This passage from Naked Lunch was issued on the 20th Anniversary of its original publication. _____ an edition of 150 copies numbered and signed by Burroughs, hardbound in dust jacket. _____ an edition…
Ah Pook is Here
London: John Calder 1979, first British publication of this title, hardbound in dust jacket. Also includes The Book of Breeething and Electronic Revolution which were published elsewhere previously. _____ simultaneous wraps issue. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C. Shoaf’s Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist and…
Where Naked Troubadours Shoot Snotty Baboons
Northridge CA: Lord John Press 1978, limited edition broadside prints a piece from Cities of the Red Night and was designed and illustrated by James R. Silke. An edition of 26 lettered copies signed by Burroughs and Silke. _____ an edition 100 numbered copies each signed by Burroughs and Silke. This bibliography of A-List publications…
Letters to Allen Ginsberg
Geneva: Claude Givaudan/Am Here Books 1978, an edition of 100 numbered copies signed by Burroughs. Text in English only. Hardbound in a clear acetate dust jacket with facsimile signatures printed in blue. Published simultaneously with the bilingual edition listed below. _____ the trade edition limited to 400 numbered copies. Hardbound with clear acetate dust jacket…
Ali’s Smile / Naked Scientology
Bonn: Expanded Media Editions 1978, text in German and English, translations by Carl Weissner, first printing in wraps. First co-publication of these previously published works. Bonn: Expanded Media Editions 1985, second edition in pictorial wraps more gray than above. Bonn: Pociao’s Books/Expanded Media 2000, fifth edition in new wrapper design. This bibliography of A-List publications…
The Third Mind
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…
The Retreat Diaries
New York: City Moon 1976, a limited edition of 26 lettered copies signed by the author. The limited edition copies were issued in a special envelope die cut to reveal the color cover. There is some confusion about this publication since Morgan’s bibliography on Ginsberg (1994) notes that the limited edition copies were never distributed…
Cobble Stone Gardens
New York: Cherry Valley Editions 1976, an edition of 50 hardbound copies signed by Burroughs. The title is taken from the name of the gift shop run by Burroughs’ parents. Cover photograph of William Burroughs with his brother Mort and their father. Contains several pages of black and white photos from the author’s collection. _____…
Snack
London: Aloes Books 1975, pale green stapled wraps, two transcripts of taped conversations with Burroughs. Tape One from a radio broadcast by Eric Mottram. Tape Two a meeting between Eric Mottram and William Burroughs. These transcripts from BBC tapes (one in 1964, with work by Burroughs nowhere else preserved; the other from 1973). An often-overlooked…
Sidetripping
New York: Derbibooks 1975, text by WSB, photos by Charles Gatewood, bound in pictorial wraps. The texts are from previously published works. San Francisco: Last Gasp 2001, contains a new introduction by Gatewood, and dedicated to the memory of WSB, bound in wraps. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric…
The Book of Breething
Ingatestone, Essex, UK: OU Henri Chopin 1974, one of 50 copies signed by Burroughs and hand-numbered in Roman numerals comprising the “deluxe presentation,” bound in wraps. _____ one of 350 copies in wraps. The colophon calls for these to have been numbered, though apparently none were. Berkeley: Blue Wind Press 1975, an edition of 250…
Port of Saints
London: Covent Garden Press 1973, hardbound in a dust jacket and housed in a white slipcase. Issued in a series of 100 copies numbered and signed by Burroughs. Later editions by Blue Wind Press vary slightly in text and also lack the illustrations of the Covent Gardens production. This was Burroughs’ last work written in…
Mayfair Acadamy Series More or Less
[M&M A25] London: Urgency Press Rip-Off 1973, a compilation of articles by Burroughs which appeared in Mayfair magazine, bound in wraps, one of 650 copies. Maynard & Miles A25. A piracy but a helpful compilation of articles for collectors who cannot find all the Mayfair copies. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs…
White Subway
[M&M A24] London: Aloes Books 1973, 25 signed and numbered copies. Another collection of previously published articles, mostly from magazines. Maynard & Miles A24a. _____ 975 copies in the trade edition. _____ second printing of 500 copies with slight changes to the wrapper design. _____ variant issue of second printing omits title and author on…
Exterminator!
[M&M A23] New York: Viking 1973, hardbound in dust jacket, one of 7,500 copies. From the collation it is noted “Portions of this volume have been previously published, in somewhat different form, in the following places: Antaeus, Atlantic Monthly, Cavalier, Daily Telegraph (London), Esquire, Evergreen Review, Mayfair, Rolling Stone, Village Voice.” M&M note that a…
Brion Gysin Let the Mice In
[M&M A22] West Glover, VT: Something Else Press 1973. A curious collaboration in which the authorship is attributed to Gysin with “texts by William Burroughs & Ian Sommerville, edited by Jan Herman” according to jacket copy. One of 500 copies hardbound in dust jacket. Technically this should probably be a B item because of Burroughs’…
Electronic Revolution
[M&M A21] Cambridge: Blackmoor Head Press 1971, Limited signed / numbered edition of 50 copies printed on special paper and issued in a cardboard case. Drawings by Brion Gysin. Bilingual French and English text of a two-part 52-page essay on media and manipulation, about equal parts paranoia and genius, as much of Burroughs’ work tended…
The Wild Boys
[M&M A20] New York: Grove Press 1971, first printing and one of 5,619 copies, hardbound in dust jacket. Maynard & Miles A20a. The small number of copies printed indicates that the publisher felt demand for the book would be minimal. Burroughs’ first real novel after all the cut-ups and rearrangements of earlier works borrowing from…
Ali’s Smile
[M&M A19] Brighton, UK: Unicorn Books 1971, an edition of 99 numbered copies signed by Burroughs, hardbound without dust jacket, accompanied by a 12-inch vinyl recording of Burroughs reading a draft of the text. Maynard & Miles A19. It has always been difficult for collectors to find this title, and is probably the most sought-after…
The Last Words of Dutch Schultz
[M&M A17] London: Cape Goliard Press 1970, hardbound in dust jacket. A fiction written in the form of a screenplay, this work was inspired by Burroughs’ interest in reputed mobster Schultz. This limited edition of 100 copies was numbered and signed by Burroughs, and bound in grey green buckram. Issued in fragile tissue dust jacket….
The Job: Interviews with William Burroughs
[M&M A16] New York: Grove Press 1970, first printing and one of 5,000 copies, hardbound in dust jacket. Maynard & Miles A16a. First American edition (and the first edition in English), with a new Introduction by Burroughs. This collaboration with Daniel Odier is an excellent collection of interviews with Burroughs. First published as Entretiens Avec…
The Dead Star
[M&M A14] San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press 1969, printed stapled wrappers which fold-out accordion fashion, one of 2,000 copies, first separate printing of this piece which originally appeared in a different form in Jeff Nuttall’s My Own Mag. Maynard & Miles A14. This bibliography of A-List publications by William S. Burroughs derives from Eric C….
So Who Owns Death TV?
[M&M A13] San Francisco: Beach Books 1967, small pamphlet in white wrappers stapled at top, this copy of the “first state” of issue with 50¢ price, one of 3,000 printed. Maynard & Miles A13a. A collaboration with Carl Weissner and Claude Pelieu. A variant printing of some 200 copies has black wraps with white lettering…
APO-33: A Metabolic Regulator
[M&M A12]
Time
[M&M A11] New York: “C” Press 1965, Maynard & Miles A11a. A signed hardcover issue lettered A-J each accompanied by a manuscript page from Burroughs and a drawing by Brion Gysin. Illustrated with four calligrams by Gysin. The top half of the cover appears to be an issue of Time magazine and features portraits of…
Nova Express
[M&M A10] New York: Grove Press 1964, first edition and one of 10,000 copies, hardbound in dust jacket. Maynard & Miles A10a. A new work, part of which was written in collaboration with Ian Sommerville, and part of which uses the “fold-in” method of rearranging text, a variation of Gysin’s cut-up method. New York: Black…
Roosevelt After Inauguration
[M&M A9] New York: Fuck You Press 1964, by “Willy Lee”, bound in stapled wraps. Maynard & Miles A9. Small and short (only 14 gathered leaves), this routine was originally intended for inclusion in The Yage Letters but was censored by the English printers. A version appeared in Floating Bear 9 (1961) before being co-opted…
The Yage Letters
[M&M A8] San Francisco: City Lights 1963, one of 3,000 copies in wraps. Maynard & Miles A8a. Consisting mostly of letters written to Allen Ginsberg by Burroughs on his trip to South America in 1953, but including letters by Ginsberg as well. _____ 1975, second edition in wraps, adds a new letter dated 10 July…
Dead Fingers Talk
[M&M A7] London: Calder/Olympia 1963, first printing and one of 4,000 copies. This is a somewhat rare Review Copy with slip laid in which was sent to a Canadian distributor, possibly the only such copy in existence. DFT includes some material from the Naked Lunch, Soft Machine, and Ticket That Exploded. Hardbound in dust jacket….
The Ticket That Exploded
[M&M A6] Paris: Olympia Press 1962, softbound in stiff olive-green wraps, a copy lacking the dust jacket, one of 5,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A6a. The third of the Olympia Press originals. New York: Grove Press 1967, first US publication, hardbound in dust jacket, one of 10,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A6b. The text of…
The Soft Machine
[M&M A5] Paris: Olympia Press 1961, stiff olive-green wraps, with decorated dust jacket, one of 5,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A5a. The second publication of Burroughs’ work by Olympia Press. Dust jacket design by Brion Gysin. New York: Grove Press 1966, first US printing, one of 18,000 copies, hardbound in dust jacket. Maynard & Miles…
The Exterminator
[M&M A4] San Francisco: Auerhahn Press 1960, bound in wraps and one of 1,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A4a. A collaboration with Brion Gysin, not to be confused with Burroughs’ work Exterminator! published by Viking Press in 1973. Cover design by Gysin. A short piece with but 47 pages. San Francisco: Dave Haselwood Books 1967,…
Minutes to Go
[M&M A3] Paris: Two Cities Editions 1960, bound in wraps, one of 1,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A3a. A collaborative effort between Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Sinclair Beiles, and Gregory Corso, and the first of the “cut-up” publications. There was also a limited edition of 10 copies (only five of which were for sale) each signed…
Naked Lunch
[M&M A2] Paris: Olympia Press 1959, the first printing with the decorative border around the title page, one of 5,000 copies. Maynard & Miles A2a. Dust jacket with a design by Burroughs. The first printing showed the price of 1,500 Francs printed on the back cover. However, according to the Chronique de la France et…
Junky
aka Junkie [M&M A1] New York: Ace Double Books D-15, published 1953 and bound with Maurice Helbrant’s Narcotic Agent, attributed to William “Lee” as Burroughs used his mother’s maiden name so as not to discredit his family. Maynard & Miles A1a, in which they note that as many as 100,000 copies may have been printed….
Books and Broadside Prints By William S. Burroughs
A Bibliography by Eric C. Shoaf Junky [1953] Naked Lunch [1959] Minutes to Go [1960] The Exterminator [1960] The Soft Machine [1961] The Ticket That Exploded [1962] Dead Fingers Talk [1963] The Yage Letters [1963] Roosevelt After Inauguration [1964] Nova Express [1964] Time [1965] APO-33: A Metabolic Regulator [1965] So Who Owns Death TV? [1967]…
A William S. Burroughs Bibliography
by Eric C. Shoaf Eric C. Shoaf’s Collector’s Guide is now available in an updated print edition produced by Inkblot Publications. The William S. Burroughs material listed in the A-items section are primary publications and these are arranged in chronological order based on date of first publication of the title. Later printings are noted only…