[GINSBERG, Allen, Lawrence FERLINGHETTI, Kenneth PATCHEN, et al. ] The Pocket Poets Series. A run of the first 25 volumes.

£15,000 · Offered by Henry Sotheran Ltd

Printer's ink is the greater explosive - Lawrence Ferlinghetti [GINSBERG, Allen, Lawrence FERLINGHETTI, Kenneth PATCHEN, et al. ] The Pocket Poets Series. A run of the first 25 volumes. San Francisco: The City Lights Bookshop . 1955-1968. Twenty-five volumes; small 8vo. All in original publisher’s typographic card wrappers printed in a variety of colours including yellow, red, blue and green, vols 21 and 22 with cover illustrations/photographs; some including black-and-white photographs, housed in a custom-made solander box; overall light shelfwear and marking, all minimal; vol. 3 with some light marking to covers, spotting to prelims and outer edge, and toning to spine; vols 5 and 6 with small dampstains to covers; vol. 7 with previous owners ink initials to front cover; vol. 16 spine expertly reinforced; vol. 19 with corner crease to upper cover; vol. 22 with previous ownership name in ink to title; some covers a little rubbed to extremities, others a little toned to the wraps; a remarkably fresh set. First editions, all first printings, beginning with Pictures of the Gone World (1955) by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and concluding with Hunk of Skin (1968) by Pablo Picasso. The City Lights Pocket Poet Series was a revolutionary publishing venture, celebrated for championing writers such as Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Patchen, Bob Kaufman, William Carlos Williams, and Allen Ginsberg. Issued by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore, founded in 1953, the series played a pivotal rol

• Printing: first
• Binding: Hardcover

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