24 Nov

Posted at 14:09h in Joseph Beuys Postcards

Kranenburg: Hause Van der Grinten, 1963 20.9 x 10.6cm, 4pp. Printed only on the inside with exterior of card blank. Beuy's first ever exhibition invitation with a b/w reproduction of a linocut from 1959 and details of the Van der Grinten collection of Beuys works that were being exhibited in the family's house. The image is a drawing of a piece of ‘chain’ which was a symbolic part of the Büderich War Memorial in Büderich although Beuys typically has added symbols from magnets. It is interesting that some of the artist's formal symbolism and hermetic imagery is already present in this image. Additionally Beuys was still spelling his name as ‘Josef’ at this time (possibly after his father Josef Jakob Beuys). An extremely rare early announcement card in near mint condition. JOINT: As issued - 20.9 x 10.6cm, 1pp insert with details of the signed print issued by the Hause Van der Grinten in 500 examples. Typograsphic only....

15 Nov

Posted at 11:43h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Edinburgh; Wild Hawthorne Press, 1963
26 x 21cm, 4pp. The ninth tenth of Finlay’s poetry publication with contributions by Robert Frame, Finlay himself, Eugene Gomringer, Anselan Hollo, Dom Sylvester Houedard, Robert Lax and Edwin Morgan. This number was printed in part red on white and was designated by Finlay as "the Concrete number" and all the poems included can be regarded as such. There is an abstract illustration by Robert Frame as an insert (printed b/w).
ALSO INSERTED:
FROM BURGOS JAIL.
29.5 x 19.5cm, 1pp. Folded. Promotional leaflet printed green and black on white published by Appeal for Amnesty in Spain: for a poetry book protesting fascist political prisoners under Franco.
This was the first issue to break with the previous size format - thereafter while most numbers were 26 x 21cm, some were smaller or even oblong. New printing techniques were being used also - the earliest numbers of POTH were laid up using pretty much only type - these slightly later numbers were pasted up and some typesetting also used (which allowed more flexibility in design and made reproducing visual and concrete works more easy (and accurate).
*********
One poem by Morgan on the back page was mistakenly corrected by the printer (Gaol was corrected to Goal) so each copy was hand altered to indicate the correct format - it should have been thus:

BRAZILIAN "FOOTBALL"
1958 - Goal! Goal! Goal!
1962 - Goal! Goal! Goal!
1964 - Gaol! Gaol! Gaol!

...

15 Sep

Posted at 11:31h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Edinburgh; Wild Hawthorne Press, 1963
30 x 21cm, 4pp. The ninth number of Finlay’s poetry publication with contributions by Paul Fort (translated by Nicole Rabetaud), Lorine Niedecker, Ronald Johnson, Rocco Scotellaro (translated by Cid Corman), Libby Houston; John Gray, and Paulo Marcos de Andrade (translated by Augusto de Campos). The inner double spread is based on Ronal Johnson's Sports and Divertissments - which Finlay later published as a stand alone book. The "decorations" herein (reproduced woodcuts) were by Peter Stitt. None of the poems in this issue might be clearly regarded as "concrete".
INSERTED
The "spring list" of books and other items available from the Wild Hawthorn Press. 19 x 29cm, 1pp. Folded.

...

15 Aug

Posted at 11:18h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Edinburgh; Wild Hawthorne Press, 1963
30 x 21cm, 4pp. The eighth number of Finlay’s poetry publication with contributions by Ian Hamilton Finlay, Peter Stitt, Yury Pankratov (translated by Edwin Morgan), Andrei Voznesensky (translated by Edwin Morgan and Anselm Hollo), El Lissitsky, A. Khlebnikov (translated by J.F. Hendry and Edwin Morgan), Spike Hawkins, Jonathan Williams, Alexander Tvardovskii (translated by J.F. Hendry), and Mary Ellen Solt.
This was the first number of POTH to publish Finlay's own concrete poems - the work is Homage to Malevich - where a text block made up of combinations of the words LACK BLOCK and BLACK create a rectangle which is reflected in a drawing below (by Peter Stitt from Finlay's instructions). This work is published in other books by Finlay including Rapel. A significant section of the pages in this number are dedicated to Russian avant garde writers - mostly translated in part by Edwin Morgan and the number is dedicated to the memory of those writers including Malevich.

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11 Jul

Posted at 10:33h in Letters + Documents

A typed letter signed by Finlay to his friend Fred Hunter (dated July 11th [1963]) on two sheets of light typing paper - each 12.7 x 20.2cm, 1pp. There are approximately 353 words, with one holograph correction. Finlay writes: “I also enclose a catalogue Jessie [McGuffie] and I made, for the gallery Jessie was to run here; unfortunately, the nasty posh lady who owned the gallery, objected to some of the people who were invited to the opening, and there was an argument, and Jessie got sacked, whereupon the artist withdrew his paintings, so there never WAS an exhibition.” Elsewhere, Finlay thanks Hunter “for the pound… the Wild Hawthorn is certainly always glad of money”; mentions Fish-Sheet (“I hope to do it, at irregular intervals”), and informs that “Next Poth will be 8”. Other chat refers to Hunter having bought “the concretes of [sic] A D'Offay; I just hope it wasn’t a disappointment for you; it worries me”, and a promise to dig out back issues of Migrant for him that “are shut away in a teachest, in a friend’s house”. This letter was sent by Finlay along with the handout for the Patriot Gallery (which has a separate listing in this collection) which is the exhibition by Stitt he refers to in this letter. "I also enclose a catalogue Jessie and I made, for the gallery Jessie was to run here, unfortunately, the nasty posh lady who owned the gallery, objected to some of the people who were invited to the opening, and there was an argument, and Jessie got sacked, whereupon the artist withdrew his paintings, so there never WAS an exhibition. However the artist gave us three prints of his etching, Bird descending, and I thought you might like to have one as a little present so here it it. P Stitt has much nicer things but he will certainly be famous one day, so the etching will be good to have...

18 Jun

Posted at 15:57h in Wild Hawthorn Press

Edinburgh: WIld Hawthorn Press, 1963
15 x 20.5Ccm, 20pp. Original wrappers that wrap around. A poetry book with 10 verses by Turnbull - with linocuts by Alexander McNeish. This was the fourth book published by The Wild Hawthorn Press. VG+. Murray 1.4.

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06 Jun

Posted at 13:47h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Edinburgh: Partisan Gallery, 1963 23.7 x 36cm, 1pp, broadside and gallery handout for an exhibition of work by Peter Stitt, printing an original poem each by Ian Hamilton Finlay ("20 - a PS")and Jerome Rothenberg ("Call it Heaven). This is a very early Finlay contribution where he designed the broadside for a gallery that was released for an exhibition of works by Stitt and that was curated by Finlay's then wife Jessie McGuffie (but the opening caused a rift between the gallery owner and McGuffie as the latter had invited some guests who the owner thought crude.) The artist then withdrew his paintings and the show was cancelled. Lists the works exhibited by Stitt, one of which was lent by Finlay. Stitt was subsequently featured by Finlay in Poor Old Tired Horse issues #8 and #9, after which he moved to London. The Finlay poem is one of the very first that can be clearly identified as a concrete poem, it is a typescript where each work or small phrase is linked by lines to create relationships between the words and their positioning on the page and relative to each other. This is an extremely rare and important publication which has a very similar design style to Fish Sheet One but was never widely distributed because of the falling out between McGuffie, Finlay "and the posh lady who owned the gallery" (from a TLS to be found elsewhere in this collection that was sent along with this catalogue). Folded twice for mailing. VG+. ...

15 May

Posted at 11:03h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Edinburgh; Wild Hawthorne Press, 1963
30 x 21cm, 4pp + 1pp insert. The seventh number of Finlay’s poetry publication with contributions by Kurt Schwitters (translated by Lesley Lendrum), Paul Celan (translated by Helmut Bonheim), Robert Creeley, Piero Heliczer, Mario Trufelli (translated by Cid Corman); Andrei Voznesensky (translated by Edwin Morgan), Crombie Saunders, Paul Blackburn, Richard Huelsenbeck (translated by Jerome Rothenberg), Robert Simmons, Hamish McLaren, Bud Neill, Fernano Lemos, and Alexander McNeish. This is a very hard to find early number of this international review - hardly any exist on the open market. This example is VG. BR> The inserted sheet has three images in b/w by Bud Neill and Alexander McNeish as well as the work Drawing by Ferando Lemos which is clearly a visual poem and continues the introduction of such work to the POTH series. Thereafter this number almost all following issues were primarily concerned with such formats rather than traditional poetry structures. BR>...

16 Apr

Posted at 20:59h in Miscellany

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1963)
29.4 x 20.4cm, 1pp offset lithographic price list for the Press. Mentions the early publications from the Press and some such as Jonathan William's Lullabies Twisters Gibbers Drags which the Press was the distributor for in the UK. Former fold else VG+....

10 Apr

Posted at 18:43h in Page Works & Contributions

Paris: Approchest, n.d. (1963)
20.5 x 13cm, 130pp plus original wrappers. A single number of a poetry journal edited by Julian Blaine and Jean-Francois Bory. The editors were aware of the growing changes in experimental poetry and here one finds Pierre Garnier, Jeff Nuttall, John Furnival, de Campos, de Vree, Blaine and Bory alongside Finlay's BROKEN HEART which can be found in Rapel.
The spine and wrappers here are attached but with tears - a bit fragile but a rare early Finlay international contribution and a sign of his growing reputation amongst his peers. Else VG.

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18 Mar

Posted at 13:56h in Artist's Books

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1963
30 x 21cm, Soft cover. First edition. Cream card folder, front panel and flap at rear printed in black, containing only 11 loose sheets printed on one side only: dedication printed in black, 'a peach an apple' printed in blue, a valentine in green, the practice in black, formal poem in three colours, carousel in two colours. Wrappers and contents in fine condition with the exception of a slight tear on the back right fold. Exceptionally rare very early Finlay visual poetry publication.
This was the first wholly conceived "concrete" poetry book by Finlay and contains some of his best known works (which were later reprinted in anthologies and other Finlay publications as well as in different mediums such as unique glass works.

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12 Mar

Posted at 11:17h in Prints + Posters

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1963
26.2 x 21.5cm, 1pp blue, green and yellow silkscreen on white card. A concrete poem by Finlay which was created for the Rappel artist's book however a small number of additional sheets in a different size were released - of which this is one. The words 'deer' and 'tree' are placed in different combinations to create small word pictures with the final image the words are conjoined to make "treed" with ree in green. Very scarce. In VG+ condition....

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