In the Fall of 1961, Jon and Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb published the first issue of their avant-garde poetry and prose magazine, The Outsider. Handset and letterpress printed, the journal straddled the line between traditional books and modern works of art, and the journal made an outsized impact on the literary world, shining a light on the talents of Beat Generation, Black Mountain and other avant-garde and counterculture poets, writers, and artists of the era.
In all, Loujon Press published three issues of The Outsider (one a double issue), and two books each by poet Charles Bukowski and novelist Henry Miller. These publications received at least as much praise for their quality as physical artifacts as they did for the poems and prose that made up their editorial matter. It seems like a small catalogue, but the remarkable artistry, craftsmanship, and pioneering spirit have earned the press a much larger place in history.
As art writer Nathan Martin commented, “Loujon operated during a particular moment in the history of artistic publishing in America … and remains a distinctive and compelling entity at the intersection of fine-press publishing, counterculture literature, and the French Quarter from which it emerged.”
Loujon Press Checklist:
1. The Outsider, Vol. 1, No. 1, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Fall 1961
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 101 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed with handset type on a C&P handpress by Jon and Louise Webb. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; Advisory Editors: Marvin Bell, Margaret Randall, Jory Sherman, Edwin Morgan, Melville Hardiment, Sinclair Beiles; Consultant: Walter Lowenfels; illustrations: F. Salantrie.
- Ephemera:
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- Prospectus. 5.75” x 17.75” sheet folded once to make four pages, lists contributors and includes order form.
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- Offprints:
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- Corso, Gregory. “The American Way” [offprint of page 9] [1]
- Bukowski, Charles. “A Charles Bukowski Album” [offprint of pages 47-54] (Krumhansl 6)
- Miller, Henry. Letters To Lowenfels. [offprint of pages 63-66] [2] (Shifreen & Jackson A140)
- Burroughs, William S. Operation Soft Machine. [offprint of pages 73-77] [3]
- McClure, Michael. Spontaneous Hymn To Kundalini [offprint of page 46] [4]
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- Contents:
- Edson, Russell. “Editorial” – 1:1, 3
- Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Editor’s Bit: Public Square” – 1:1, 4
- Beiles, Sinclair. “Metabolic C Movies” – 1:1, 5
- Gordon, Stuart. “Metabolic C Movies” – 1:1, 5
- Corso, Gregory. “The American Way” – 1:1, 9
- Webb, Jr., Jon Edgar. “A Peek Over The Wall” – 1:1, 15
- Giudici, Ann. untitled [“Be careful when you step…”] – 1:1, 17
- Giudici, Ann. untitled [“I was a child…”] – 1:1, 17
- Giudici, Ann. untitled [“Can you pause and stay…”] – 1:1, 18
- Di Prima, Diane. “Lord Jim” – 1:1, 19
- Grant, John. “On The Dot” – 1:1, 20
- Haines, Paul. “…Had Spent Laughing” – 1:1, 23
- Snyder, Gary. “Xrist” – 1:1, 24
- Turnbull, Gael. “A Hill” – 1:1, 25
- Olson, Charles. untitled [“Borne down by…”] – 1:1, 26
- Dorn, Edward. “Like A Message On Sunday” – 1:1, 27
- Ginsberg, Allen. “The End (to Kaddish)” – 1:1, 28
- Orlovsky, Peter. “Snale Poem” – 1:1, 29
- Hughes, Langston. “Doorknobs” – 1:1, 30
- Martinez, Juan. “Work Song” – 1:1, 31
- Sorrentino, Gilbert. “Ave Atque Vale” – 1:1, 35
- Lowenfels, Walter. “Good-Bye Jargon, Elegy for a Small Press” – 1:1, 36
- Lowenfels, Walter. “Welcome Home to Cubby” – 1:1, 37
- Corman, Cid. “Post Mortem” – 1:1, 38
- Corman, Cid. “Sempre D’amore” – 1:1, 38
- Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. “Underwear” – 1:1, 39
- Bremser, Ray. “On Prevalence” – 1:1, 42
- Randall, Margaret. “Series of Seven” – 1:1, 43
- Brand, Millen. “Swinging Off Swamp Creek” – 1:1, 44
- Creeley, Robert. “The End of the Day” – 1:1, 45
- Creeley, Robert. “Mind’s Heart” – 1:1, 45
- Creeley, Robert. “The Bird” – 1:1, 45
- McClure, Mike. “Spontaneous Hymn to Kundalini” – 1:1, 46
- Bukowski, Charles. “Hooray Say The Roses” – 1:1, 48
- Bukowski, Charles. “Pay Your Rent or Get Out” – 1:1, 48
- Bukowski, Charles. “Shoes” – 1:1, 49
- Bukowski, Charles. “I Am With the Roots of Flowers” – 1:1, 50
- Bukowski, Charles. “Go With the Rockets & the Blondes” – 1:1, 51
- Bukowski, Charles. “A Real Thing, a Good Woman” – 1:1, 51
- Bukowski, Charles. “To a High Class Whore I Refused” – 1:1, 52
- Bukowski, Charles. “Old Man, Dead in a Room” – 1:1, 52
- Bukowski, Charles. “Love in a Back Room on the Row” – 1:1, 53
- Bukowski, Charles. “Nothing Subtle” – 1:1, 53
- Bukowski, Charles. “And Then: Age” – 1:1, 53
- Sward, Robert. “Momma–, Mountain” – 1:1, 55
- Ristau, Harland. “M’sippi Town” – 1:1, 56
- Wilson, Colin. “Some Comments On The Beats & Angries” – 1:1, 57
- Sherman, Jory. “Dear Liz” – 1:1, 60
- Hedley, Leslie Woolf. “Naked In My Century” – 1:1, 62
- Miller, Henry. “Letters To Lowenfels” – 1:1, 62
- Jones, LeRoi. “The Southpaw” – 1:1, 67
- Jones, LeRoi. “Bo Peep” – 1:1, 67
- Jones, LeRoi. “X” – 1:1, 67
- Jones, LeRoi. “Boswell” – 1:1, 68
- Jones, LeRoi. “Dr. Jive” – 1:1, 68
- Bell, Marvin. “Portrait of a Skeleton” – 1:1, 69
- Bell, Marvin. “Winter Poem” – 1:1, 69
- Epstein, Lester. “Demonstrate Your Culture…” – 1:1, 70
- Epstein, Lester. “Moment” – 1:1, 71
- Epstein, Lester. “Cold Coffee” – 1:1, 71
- Zahn, Curtis. “Reprimand For A Compromised Love-Object” – 1:1, 72
- Burroughs, William S. “Operation Soft Machine” – 1:1, 74
- Kaja. “from: The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 1:1, 78
- Crews, Judson. “Rel Bore Speng Lule” – 1:1, 79
- Crews, Judson. “Pastoral” – 1:1, 79
- Thompson, Tracy. “Stranger” – 1:1, 79
- Carroll, Paul. “What Did Your Face Look Like…” – 1:1, 80
- Oden, G. C. “Lay Your Head Here” – 1:1, 81
- May, James Boyer. “The Salutary Snare, for Colin Wilson” – 1:1, 82
- Schleifer, Marc D. “Here & There, for Marian’s Show” – 1:1, 82
- Pfisterer III, Frederick. “Dolorous Somewhere Behind” – 1:1, 83
- Frumkin, Gene. “The Fat Pigeon” – 1:1, 84
- Williams, Jonathan. “The Big House, For Sherwood Anderson” – 1:1, 84
- Corrington, William. “Hard Man” – 1:1, 85
- Boyle, Kay. “Print from a Lucite Block” – 1:1, 85
- Blackburn, Paul. “Death Watch: Veille D’hiver” – 1:1, 86
- Eshleman, Clayton. “Red Shoes (from Songs For Exile)” – 1:1, 86
- Kupferberg, Tuli. “Great” – 1:1,87
- Moraff, Barbara. “A Little Spur” – 1:1, 88
- Abrams, Sam. “Bodies Only” – 1:1, 88
- McGuire, Terence. “Mid-Morning” – 1:1, 88
2. The Outsider, Vol. 1, No. 2, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Summer 1962
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 112 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed on a 8″ x 12″ C&P new series motorized press by Jon and Louise Webb. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; illustrations: Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie, Malcolm Paul Newman.
- Offprints:
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- Burroughs, William S. Wilt Caught In Time. [offprint of pages 3-4] [4]
- Miller, Henry. The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters. [offprint of pages 73-80] 2 (Shifreen & Jackson A140)
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- Contents:
- Burroughs, William S. “Wilt Caught In Time” – 1:2, 3
- Masters, R. E. L. “Editorial” – 1:2, 5
- Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Editor’s Bit” – 1:2, 6
- Bukowski, Charles. “Sick Leave” – 1:2, 7
- Johnson, Kay. “from: The Fourth Hour” – 1:2, 8
- Oppenheimer, Joel. “A Long Way” – 1:2, 10
- Oppenheimer, Joel. “The Present” – 1:2, 11
- Nemerov, Howard. “The Iron Characters” – 1:2, 13
- Edson, Russell. “There Was” – 1:2, 14
- Eigner, Larry. untitled [“the sky cross the desert…”] – 1:2, 15
- Eigner, Larry. untitled [“visiting yesterday…”] – 1:2, 16
- Eigner, Larry. untitled [“An easy death…”] – 1:2, 17
- Eigner, Larry. untitled [“all these cripples…”] – 1:2, 18
- Eigner, Larry. untitled [“that’s odd…”] – 1:2, 19
- Dorn, Edward. “The Argument Is” – 1:2, 20
- Corso, Gregory. “Poems From Berlin, First Week’s
- Impression” – 1:2, 21
- Bremser, Ray. “On The Nature” – 1:2, 24
- Mayes, Richard. “Lament” – 1:2, 28
- Johnson, Kay. “Poems From Paris” – 1:2, 29
- Frumkin, Gene. “The Poet On His Lunch Hour” – 1:2, 34
- Morgan, Edwin. “Jean Genet: A Legend, To Be Legible” – 1:2, 35
- Hollo, Anselm. “They Fatted The Calf” – 1:2, 40
- Stoloff, Carolyn. “Something Diseased” – 1:2, 42
- Jacobson, David B. “Lecture” – 1:2, 42
- Bukowski, Charles. “To A Lady Who Believes Me Dead” – 1:2, 43
- Johnson, Kay. “Quick, Someone’s Coming” – 1:2, 44
- Webb, Jon Edgar. “Suddenly Over” – 1:2, 45
- Major, Clarence. “Dream In Ruins” – 1:2, 45
- Field, Edward. “Ah, Linger A While, Thou Art So Fair” – 1:2, 46
- Mason, Mason Jordan. “Mysterious As Any Woman Be” – 1:2, 47
- Hazard, Geoffrey. “The Dubliner” – 1:2, 47
- Moraff, Barbara. “Dear Solomon” – 1:2, 48
- Musial, Frank. “Room” – 1:2, 48
- Giudici, Ann. “Remember?” – 1:2, 49
- Oden, G. C. “Low Calvary” – 1:2, 49
- Bell, Marvin. “Pipecleaner, For Thin Dorothy” – 1:2, 50
- Kaja. “from: The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 1:2, 50
- Genet, Jean. “from: Le Pecheur Du Suquet” – 1:2, 52
- Purdy, A. W. “Love Poem” – 1:2, 53
- Madaio, Louise. “The Wine Is Red (from Black Olives)” – 1:2, 55
- McGrath, Thomas. “from: Letter To An Imaginary Friend” – 1:2, 59
- Corrington, William. “Surreal For Lorca” – 1:2, 61
- Williams, Jonathan. “The Anchorite” – 1:2, 62
- Lowenfels, Walter. “Editorial” – 1:2, 64
- Lamantia, [Philip]. “Last Days Of San Francisco” – 1:2, 66
- Kerouac, Jack. “Sept. 19, 1961 Poem” – 1:2, 68
- Margoshes, Dave. “Denise Levertov” – 1:2, 71
- Margolis, William J. “from: The Mendicant Notebook, Vi (For Maxine)” – 1:2, 72
- Miller, Henry. “The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters” – 1:2, 73
- Finlay, Ian Hamilton. “Art Student” – 1:2, 81
- Tagliabue, John. “Now And Then In The Fluorescence A Slight Jerking Motion” – 1:2, 82
- Tagliabue, John. “’I Got Important Contacts’ Willy Loman Says” – 1:2, 82
- Tagliabue, John. “Side Show / U.S.A.” – 1:2, 83
- Tagliabue, John. “Those Mysterious Events That Stir Us” – 1:2, 83
- Tagliabue, John. “Tall Blonde Girl And Ballet Dancer – 1:2, 83
- Patchen, Kenneth. “letter to the editor and untitled paintings” – 1:2, 84
- Micheline, Jack. “Street Call New Orleans” – 1:2, 94
- Allen, Richard B. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 97
- Borenstein, Larry. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 103
- Jaffee, Allan & Sandra. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 103
- Russell, Bill. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 104
- Hentoff, Nat. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 104
- Wilson, John S. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
- Sperling, Jr., Godfrey. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
- Hobson, Wilder. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
- Giudici, Ann. “Didn’t He Ramble, For Steve Angrum” – 1:2, 111
3. The Outsider, Volume 1, Number 3, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Spring 1963
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 138 pages, 2100 copies, letterpress printed by Jon and Louise Webb. . Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; illustrations: Jackson Hensley, Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie.
- Offprints:
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- Miller, Henry. The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters. [offprint of pages 79-85] [5]
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- Contents:
- Webb, Jon Edgar. “Editorial: The Editor’s Bit” – 1:3, 0
Patchen, Miriam. “Letters to the editors” – 1:3, 2
Patchen, Kenneth. “Editorial” – 1:3, 3
Johnson, Kay. “The White Room” – 1:3, 7
Snyder, Gary. “Some Square Comes” – 1:3, 15
Snyder, Gary. “Madly Whirling Downhill” – 1:3, 15
Kearns, Lionel. “Stress-Axis Poems” – 1:3, 16
Creeley, Robert. “More On Kearns” – 1:3, 20
Woolf, Douglas. “Visitation” – 1:3, 22
McClure, Michael. ” -Three Mad Sonnets (from 13 Mad Sonnets)” – 1:3, 29
Sward, Robert. “Donna Is Her Name” – 1:3, 31
Sward, Robert. “Museum” – 1:3, 32
Sward, Robert. “Mr Attis & Lady C” – 1:3, 31
Burroughs, William. “Take It To Cut City – U.S.A.” – 1:3, 35
Boyd, Sue Abbott. “Journey” – 1:3, 40
Boyd, Sue Abbott. “The Following Morning” – 1:3, 40
Weeks, Robert Lewis. “Grand Opening” – 1:3, 41
Layton, Irving. “On Re-Reading The Beats” – 1:3, 42
Genet, Jean. “A Colloquy (from Le Pecheur Du Suquet)” – 1:3, 44
Fisher, Roy. “Chirico” – 1:3, 46
Fisher, Roy. “Something Unmade” – 1:3, 47
Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Girl There” – 1:3, 49
Wakowski, Diane. “The First Day” – 1:3, 54
Norse, Harold. “The Pine Cone” 1:3, 55
Solomon, Carl. “The Madman In The Looking Glass” – 1:3, 56
Cuscaden, R. R. “Charles Bukowski: Poet In A Ruined Landscape” – 1:3, 62
Corrington, William. “Charles Bukowski: Three Poems” – 1:3, 66
Bukowski, Charles. “The Tragedy Of The Leaves” – 1:3, 67
Bukowski, Charles. “The Priest And The Matador” – 1:3, 68
Bukowski, Charles. “Old Man, Dead In A Room” – 1:3, 71
Bukowski, Charles. “The House” – 1:3, 72
Bukowski, Charles. “Event” – 1:3, 73
Bukowski, Charles. “Dinner, Rain & Transport” – 1:3, 74
Bukowski, Charles. “Letters to the editors” – 1:3, 77
Miller, Henry. “The Henry Miller Lowenfels Letters” – 1:3, 79
Eigner, Larry. “Then:” – 1:3, 86
Corrington, William. “Communion (from Prayers For Mass In The Vernacular)” – 1:3, 87
Jouffroy, Alain. “Fatherland” – 1:3, 88
Hollo, Anselm. “Thalidomide” – 1:3, 90
Moraff, Barbara. “Two For Syd” – 1:3, 97
Motley, Willard. “The Burial” – 1:3, 98
Miller, Raeburn. “The Drowned Boy” – 1:3, 101
Rubin, Larry. “Etiquette For Americans” – 1:3, 102
Neish, Alex. “Review: Naked Lunch” – 1:3, 104
Charters, Samuel B. “Jazz In New Orleans: 1899 To 1957” – 1:3, 109
Borenstein, E. L. “Jazz In New Orleans: 1957 To 1963” – 1:3, 117
- Webb, Jon Edgar. “Editorial: The Editor’s Bit” – 1:3, 0
4. Bukowski, Charles. It Catches My Heart In Its Hands / New & Selected Poems 1955-1963
New Orleans: Loujon Press, October 1963
First edition, sewn signatures in printed wraparound jacket, designed and printed by Jon Edgar Webb and Louise Webb, introduction by William Corrington, illustration by Frank Salantrie, dedicated to “Gypsy Lou” Webb, 7.5” x 10”, 102 pages, 777 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #1.
(Dorbin A5)
- Ephemera:
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- Publication announcement: 5” x 10.25”, with Miller quote (Shifreen & Jackson B145)
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- Contents:
- “The Tragedy Of The Leaves”, “I Cannot Stand Tears”, “Shoes”, “A Real Thing, A Good Woman”, “To The Whore Who Took My Poems”, “Worm”, “The State Of World Affairs From A 3rd Floor Window”, “The Japanese Wife”, “For Marilyn M.”, “The Life Of Borodin”, “Winter Comes In A Lot Of Places In August”, “No Charge”, “Truth’s A Hell Of A Word”, “The Sun Wields Mercy”, “A Literary Romance”, “Reprieve And Admixture”, “Conversation In A Cheap Room”, “Letter From The North”, “Okay, But Later”, “A Minor Impulse To Complain”, “The Dog”, “Nothing Subtle”, “The Twins”, “The Day It Rained At The Los Angeles County Museum”, “2 P.M. Beer”, “Hooray Say The Roses”, “The Sunday Artist”, “Old Poet”, “To A High Class Whore I Refused”, “Dinner, Rain And Transport”, “Poem For These 4”, “Regard Me”, “I Am With The Roots Of Flowers”, “The Race”, “Vegas”, “Pay Your Rent Or Get Out”, “Love Is A Piece Of Paper Torn To Bits”, “The House”, “I Wait In The White Rain”, “The Kings Are Gone”, “It Is Not Much”, “Side Of The Sun”, “The Talkers”, “A Pleasant Afternoon In Bed”, “9 Rings”, “Blasted”, “A Song For Sadists With A Place To Sit Down”, “The Priest And The Matador”, “Love And Fame And Death”, “My Father”, “People Come Thru…”, “The Gift”, “The Bird”, “The Singular Self”, “Counsel”, “The Ox”, “Wrong Number”, “Sundays Kill More Men Than Bombs”, “A Farewell Thing While Breathing”, “A Rat Rises”, “A 350 Dollar Horse And A Hundred Dollar Whore”, “Bull”, “I Write This Upon The Last Drink’s Hammer”, “The Virgins Of Christmas”, “I Think Of Hemingway”, “Old Man, Dead In A Room”
5. Bukowski, Charles. Crucifix In A Deathhand / New Poems 1963-65
New York: Lyle Stuart, April 1965
First edition, sewn signatures in printed wraparound jacket, designed and printed by Jon Edgar Webb and Louise Webb, etchings by Noel Rockmore, dedicated to Marina Louise Bukowski, 8.5” x 12.25”, 102 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #2.
(Dorbin A6)
- Ephemera:
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- Publication announcement: 5.25” x 10”, with Miller quote (Shifreen & Jackson B164)
- Order form: 5” x 8.25”
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- Contents:
- “Sound Down the Street”, “I Think of Mice Cooling It”, “Butterfly”, “Sing to Gods or Kangaroos”, “View from the Screen”, “Not with Boldness”, “Crucifix in a Deathhand”, “When the Berry Bush Dies I’ll Swim Down the Green River with My Hair on Fire”, “Mother and Son”, “Sunflower”, “Grass”, “Fuzz”, “Seahorse”, “A Report upon the Consumption of Myself”, “No Lady Godiva”, “The Workers”, “Beans with Garlic”, “Mama”, “Machineguns, Towers and Timeclocks”, “Good Morning, Brother, How Are You?”, “Something for the Touts, the Nuns, the Grocery Clerks and You”, “The Loss, The Loss, The Loss”, “Sway with Me”, “Lack of Almost Everything”, “No Argument”, “No. 6”, “This”, “Don’t Come Round but if You Do”, “Startled Into Life like Fire”, “Stew”, “Qp”, “Lilies in My Brain”, “Itch, Come and Gone”, “I Am Dead but I Know the Dead Are Not Like This”, “Swept Away in Orangepeel And Whistle Yowl”, “At the End of Feet The Blackbird Walks”, “Let Them Go”, “Like a Violet in the Snow”, “All I Ask Is a Faint Chance”, “Letter from Too Far”, “See this Flower!”, “Pansies”, “I Was Born to Hustle Roses Down the Avenues of the Dead”, “Farewell, Foolish Objects”, “Man in the Sun”, “I Kneel”, “The Swans Walk my Brain in April it Rains”, “The Girls on Sunset Blvd.”, “Woman”, “Confession for those Who Do Not Breathe at Funerals”, “Like All The Years Wasted”, “They, all of Them, Know”, “A Nice Day”.
6. Miller, Henry. Order And Chaos Chez Hans Reichel
Tucson: Loujon Press, December 1966
First edition, perfect bound in printed wraparound jacket in printed slipcase, leather editions bound by the Schuberth Bookbindery of San Francisco, introductory statement by Karl Shapiro, introduction by Lawrence Durrell, photograph of Miller by Ina Paulandre tipped in, 9” x 9.75”, 87 pages, 1425 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #3.
(Shifreen & Jackson A157a-g)
- Variant Issues:
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- Crimson Oasis limited issue: 26 lettered copies signed, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157a)
- Blue Oasis limited issue: 99 copies signed, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157b)
- Cork issue: 1399 copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157c)
- Orange Oasis limited issue: 3 copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157d)
- Black Oasis limited issue: 11 copies lettered using letters to spell HENRY MILLER, quarter leather binding, bound in postcard from Miller to Jon Webb (Shifreen & Jackson A157e)
- Green Oasis limited issue: 11 copies lettered using letters to spell HENRY MILLER, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157f)
- Cork issue: 26 lettered copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157g)
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- Ephemera:
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- Publication announcement: 20” x 26” featuring a photograph of Miller and his bicycle (Shifreen & Jackson B181)
- Award announcement: 8.5” x 10”, printed in brown ink, TDC [Type Director’s Club] awards for typography, type direction, and design (see Shifreen & Jackson A157c)
- Award announcement: 8.5” x 9”, same as above but printed in blue ink and with slightly different text
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7. The Outsider, Vol. 2, No. 4/5, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Winter 1968-69
First edition, issued in both wrappers and hardcover in printed dust-wrapper and photo-illustrated paper wrappers, 7.25” x 10.25”, 200 pages, 500 copies. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb, illustrations: Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie, Kelsie Harder. Laid into this edition is “a sprig of flora from within a mile of Geronimo’s grave”, picked by Gypsy Lou and sealed in wax paper with letterpress printed partial wrap-around band.
- Ephemera:
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- Order form: 5” x 8.25”
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- Contents:
- Kaprow, Allan. “Moving, A Happening” – 2:4/5, 0
Goodger-Hill, Trevor. “Editorial” – 2:4/5, 1
Plymell, Charles. “In Kansas” – 2:4/5, 2
Taylor, David. “Panda” – 2:4/5, 3
Edson, Russell. “The Toy Maker” – 2:4/5, 19
Edson, Russell. “The Cult” – 2:4/5, 19
Perchik, Simon. untitled [“He Wants To Know…”] – 2:4/5, 20
Perchik, Simon. untitled [“The Kids Were First…”] – 2:4/5, 20
Major, Clarence. “Weak Dynamite” – 2:4/5, 22
Wantling, William. “That Night” – 2:4/5, 24
Bartlett, Elizabeth. “The Walnut Tree” – 2:4/5, 26
Greenberg, Alvin. “Taking A Stand” – 2:4/5, 27
Severy, Bruce. “How We Do Things” – 2:4/5, 28
Severy, Bruce. “Mud” – 2:4/5, 28
Severy, Bruce. “From 400 Yards” – 2:4/5, 28
Goodger-Hill, Trevor. “A Personal History” – 2:4/5, 30
Creighton, John. “Green Hides, Lines To A Pale Lady” – 2:4/5, 32
Eigner, Larry. untitled [“March The Route…”] – 2:4/5, 35
Eigner, Larry. untitled [“The Great American Ballot-Box…”] – 2:4/5, 36
Bukowski, Charles. “Kaakaa & Other Imolations” – 2:4/5, 37
Bukowski, Charles. “Beef Tongue, for J.T.” – 2:4/5, 39
Bukowski, Charles. “Like A Flyswatter” – 2:4/5, 41
Bukowski, Charles. “The Last Round” – 2:4/5, 42
Di Prima, Diane. “From: Spring and Autumn Annals: A Celebration for Freddie” – 2:4/5, 45
Levertov, Denise. “Late June 1968” – 2:4/5, 51
Levertov, Denise. “Not to Have” – 2:4/5, 51
Durrell, Lawrence. “?” – 2:4/5, 52
Mccord, Howard. “Descent into Birth” – 2:4/5, 53
Meltzer, David. “This is a Nation of Keepers Who Had No Time to Become Gods” – 2:4/5, 54
Cooperman, Stanley. “New York: February, 1968” – 2:4/5, 55
Cooperman, Stanley. “Cappelbaum’s Halloween” – 2:4/5, 56
Katz, Steve. “One Kind of Tune” – 2:4/5, 58
Katz, Steve. “& A More Similar Tune” – 2:4/5, 58
Randall, Margaret. “Erongaricuaro, for My Friends at the Molino” – 2:4/5, 59
Wright, Jay. “Pastel” – 2:4/5, 60
Morris, Richard. “Foreword to Keslie Artwork” – 2:4/5, 61
Harder, Kelsie. untitled [“Cartoons”] – 2:4/5, 61
Hamburger, Michael. “Travelling” – 2:4/5, 77
Stoloff, Carolyn. “Wind and the Earth” – 2:4/5, 79
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“It Came on Me…”] – 2:4/5, 80
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“An Old House…”] – 2:4/5, 80
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Oh It Wasn’t So Much…”] – 2:4/5, 81
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Too Many Years Pass…”] – 2:4/5, 82
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Leaving This Clumsy Town…”] – 2:4/5, 82
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Could I Believe…”] – 2:4/5, 83
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Heaped Between The Letters The Postcards…”] – 2:4/5, 83
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“The Madness Is Power And What…”] – 2:4/5, 83
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“I Spoke To Jenny…”] – 2:4/5, 84
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Legendary Men In The Forest…”] – 2:4/5, 84
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“And When They Killed Him…”] – 2:4/5, 84
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Finding New Bones…”] – 2:4/5, 85
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Some Jerk With Baltic-Brained…”] – 2:4/5, 86
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“This Tender Minute…”] – 2:4/5, 86
Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Some Of Us…”] – 2:4/5, 87
Haines, John. “Under The Barracks” – 2:4/5, 88
Haines, John. “In The Styrofoam Mountains” – 2:4/5, 88
Haines, John. “From The Rooftops” – 2:4/5, 89
Kelly, Robert. “Landing Cod (From The Common Shore)” – 2:4/5, 90
Gast, David K. “Teresa” – 2:4/5, 93
Patchen, Miriam. untitled [“Letter To The Editors”] – 2:4/5, 94
Sandberg, David. untitled [“Please Do Not Ring Or Knock…”] – 2:4/5, 96
Thomas, Norman. untitled [“If You Visit Patchen…”] – 2:4/5, 97
Antoninus, Brother. untitled [“Word Of The Outsider’s Homage…”] – 2:4/5, 98
Ginsberg, Allen. untitled [“I Met Kenneth Patchen At City Lights…”] – 2:4/5, 99
May, James Boyer. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen’s Physical Presence…”] – 2:4/5, 100
Norse, Harold. untitled [“He Is Part Of Youth…”] – 2:4/5, 105
Brand, Millen. untitled [“I Used To Know Kenneth In The Village…”] – 2:4/5, 106
Macdiarmid, Hugh. untitled [“I Have Been To The United States…”] – 2:4/5, 108
Glover, David. untitled [“I Recall The First Thing I Ever Read…”] – 2:4/5, 109
Rexroth, Kenneth. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen Is One Of…”] – 2:4/5, 112
Corrington, John William. untitled [“I Still Remember…”] – 2:4/5, 113
Porter, Bern. untitled [“Kenneth’s Monumental…”] – 2:4/5, 116
Detro, Gene. “Interview: Patchen Interviewed” – 2:4/5, 117
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen & E.E. Cummings…”] – 2:4/5, 129
Yates, Peter. untitled [“Know Him, This Man…”] – 2:4/5, 129
Meltzer, David. untitled [“Here Is A Man Speaking…”] – 2:4/5, 130
Young, Lafe. untitled [“Now, Nostalgically, I Realize…”] – 2:4/5, 131
Conroy, Jack. untitled [“Since My Friend Webb…”] – 2:4/5, 132
Eckman, Frederick. untitled [“A Decade Ago In A Review…”] – 2:4/5, 133
Miller, Henry. untitled [“The First Thing One Would Remark…”] – 2:4/5, 134
Blazek, Douglas. “A Few Small Things” – 2:4/5, 138
Enslin, Ted. untitled [“As If It Were My Eye…”] – 2:4/5, 139
Purdy, Al. “The Jackhammer Syndrome” – 2:4/5, 140
Shelton, Richard. “The Crossing” – 2:4/5, 142
Shelton, Richard. “& The Scars Will Be Covered” – 2:4/5, 143
Wild, Peter. “Engine” – 2:4/5, 144
Wild, Peter. “Snake Skin” – 2:4/5, 144
Wild, Peter. “Saturday Afternoon On Sugar Loaf Mtn” – 2:4/5, 145
Miller, Brown. “The Dark Oval” – 2:4/5, 146
Duberstein, Helen. “Joke” – 2:4/5, 147
Flaherty, Douglas. “Mrs. Godkin’s Son” – 2:4/5, 148
Wilson, Keith. “All The Vanished Faces” – 2:4/5, 149
Wilson, Keith. “The Wind Dragon in Spring” – 2:4/5, 150
Holland, Barbara A. “Dust-Devil Man” – 2:4/5, 151
Fowler, Gene. “The Natural History of Woman” – 2:4/5, 152
Frumkin, Gene. “Poem for Childhood” – 2:4/5, 157
levy, d.a. “For The Pigs, Rats & Adorable other Beasts of Saintly Cleveland, O” – 2:4/5, 157a
Merton, Thomas. “Tibud Maclay” – 2:4/5, 158
Bly, Robert. “Blown-Up German Fortifications Near Collioure” – 2:4/5, 159
Norse, Harold. “Return to Pompeii” – 2:4/5, 160
Gardien, Kent. “Poem Based on a List by Luis Bunel” – 2:4/5, 161
Higgins, Dick. “Four Degrees” – 2:4/5, 164
Antin, David. “Sociology” – 2:4/5, 166
Hollo, Anselm. “Bouzouki Music” – 2:4/5, 168
Krauss, Ruth. “Drunk Boat” – 2:4/5, 169
Kryss, T.L. “Circus” – 2:4/5, 170
Kryss, T.L. “The Withered Lemming of the River” – 2:4/5, 170
Dowden, George. “Morning Song for My Girl by the Sea” – 2:4/5, 171
Brown, Michael. “The Seventh Month” – 2:4/5, 172
Kandel, Lenore. “Muir Beach Mythology / September” – 2:4/5, 173
Perchik, Simon. “Four Photo-Poems” – 2:4/5, 174
Shustak, Larence. untitled photography – 2:4/5, 175
Knowles, Allison. “Journal of the Identical Lunch” – 2:4/5, 182
Williams, Emmett. untitled [“North is this Way…”] – 2:4/5, 184
Mac Low, Jackson. untitled [“Peace of Resembling…”] – 2:4/5, 186
Johnson, Kay. “The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 2:4/5, 188
Cocteau, Jean. “Creation Before Life” – 2:4/5, 190
Johnson, Ray. “Face Collage” – 2:4/5, 192
Hansen, Al. “Gat” – 2:4/5, 193
- Kaprow, Allan. “Moving, A Happening” – 2:4/5, 0
8. Miller, Henry. INSOMNIA OR THE DEVIL AT LARGE
Albuquerque, Loujon Press, 1970
First edition, portfolio case with photo-illustrated sliding lid and housing 12 printed reproductions of Miller watercolors and a spiral bound book, 7 separate issues planned but far fewer were reportedly produced, published as Gypsy Lou Series #4.
(Shifreen & Jackson A175a-h)
- Variant Issues:
-
- Issue A: 12 copies, with 12 prints plus an original watercolor and book all signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175a)
- Issue B: 26 lettered copies, with 12 prints inscribed to the buyer and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175b)
- Issue C: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175c)
- Issue D: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 9 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175d)
- Issue E: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 6 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175e)
- Issue F: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 65 were published], with 3 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175f)
- Issue G: 192 copies [planned but later increased to 385], with 12 prints unsigned and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175g)
- Economy Issue: 199 copies, with 12 prints and the book without the box (Shifreen & Jackson A175h)
-
- Ephemera:
-
- Publication announcement: 19” x 25” (Shifreen & Jackson B213)
-
Notes:
[1] Though not present in Robert Wilson’s Corso bibliography, this offprint has been examined.
[2] According to a Ken Lopez catalog entry, his copy of the Miller offprint is seven unbound leaves printed on both sides from volumes 1 and 2 of The Outsider and published in a set of 200 in 1963. However, Shifreen & Jackson describe the sets as 13 unbound leaves printed on rectos only.
[3] Listed in Michael McClure’s own online bibliography and confirmed by Denise Enck of Empty Mirror Books, though not present in any printed bibliography to date.
[4] First reference to the Burroughs offprints appear in Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit and Obit by Nicky Drumbolis and are further discussed in Signatures, also by Nicky Drumbolis. Subsequent research turns up no extant copies and in later correspondence with Drumbolis, he adds, “In my Signatures study, I infer that the Burroughs piece ‘Operation Soft Machine/Cut’ may have been issued, based on layout; acknowledging further, that no copy had been recorded by Maynard and Miles.”
[5] While the existence of this offprint and another containing the full set of Miller letters from the first 3 issues of The Outsider are noted in Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit and Obit, no evidence of these offprints has been identified.
References consulted
Dorbin, Sanford. A Bibliography of Charles Bukowski
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1969
Drumbolis, Nicky. Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit & Obit
Toronto: ECS, 1993
Drumbolis, Nicky. Signatures
Toronto: Letters, n.d.
Krumhansl, Aaron. A Descriptive Bibliography of The Primary Publications of Charles Bukowski
Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1999
Maynard, Joe and Barry Miles. William S. Burroughs: A Bibliography, 1953-73
Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1978
Shifreen, Lawrence J. and Roger Jackson. Henry Miller: A Bibliography of Primary Sources
Ann Arbor: Roger Jackson, 1993
Wilson, Robert. A Bibliography of Works By Gregory Corso 1954-1965
New York: The Phoenix Bookshop, 1966