GINSBERG, Allen.

£6,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Photographs. First edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For John Allen Cassady, with best wishes for past present future generations, Allen Ginsberg", with an elaborate illustration of a Buddha surrounded by stars and Ginsberg sunflowers. The recipient was Neal Cassady's son, named in honour of Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac (changed from "Jack" to "John" to avoid "Jackass-ady"). Neal features in six of Ginsberg's photographs in this book.This is an excellent association: Jack and Ginsberg were very fond of John, who appeared as Timmy in Kerouac's Big Sur (1962). John recalled that "Jack and Allen were sort of godparents. Ginsberg would introduce me as Allen and say, 'I'm his godfather. This is Allen Cassady'. He'd come to visit the city a lot when he was living in New York... He'd usually call me when he was in the Bay Area because he needed a ride somewhere... He'd have me take him to these events or deliver him to some boyfriend's house in the Sunset District" (quoted in Braun). While his parents endeavoured to give him a semblance of a normal childhood, John (b. 1951), a musician and writer, spent time on the Merry Pranksters Further bus with his father and Ken Kesey, much to his mother's chagrin. He recalls a vivid memory of his father and Kesey sneaking him out of school to attend a Grateful Dead concert: "I open the door and there's my dad and Kesey and they're leaning on the counter with the principal behind it and they're

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