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[ca 1950s].

One of three known groupings of photographs from "the legendary Hardiment suitcase," including original prints of both one of the most iconic images of Jack Kerouac (of Kerouac smoking a cigarette outside his 7th Street apartment, taken by Allen Ginsberg) and of Allen Ginsberg (on the roof of his Lower East Side apartment, taken by William Burroughs). 32 photographs in total, from the 1950s, of Burroughs and other figures of the Beat generation, some with Burroughs' annotations.

Several of the photographs are taped together, forming early visual collages or collage fragments, while a number of the photos have sellotape along their edges, suggesting they were at one time part of a larger collage. These collages represent some of Burroughs' earliest attempts to use images in the way he was using words -- to transcend time and space, and link together various aspects of his life and world, in ways that correlate to a "mindscape" -- akin to the connections between the stories he wrote during that period that were collectively known as the Interzone, which was also an early title for Naked Lunch. Brion Gysin, in his 1964 essay, 'Cut ups: A Project for Disastrous Success,' wrote that "Burroughs was more intent on Scotch-taping his photos together into one great continuum on the wall, where scenes faded and slipped into one another, than occupied with editing the monster manuscript" -- i.e., Naked Lunch, aka his Word Hoard.

The provenance of this group of materials is the "Hardiment suitcase," belonging to the poet Melville Hardiment, a friend of Burroughs during the years 1960-62, who is also known as the first person to have given Burroughs LSD. Hardiment bought a number of items from Burroughs in that time period and famously kept them in a suitcase: he sold the contents in parts, when he needed money. One group of materials went to the bookseller Pat Zanelli and eventually to the University of Kansas, where it is known as the Burroughs-Hardiment Collection.

A second group of photographs and collages went into the collection of photographer Richard Lorenz and were exhibited in the 1996 show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art -- "Ports of Entry: William S. Burroughs and the Arts."

The third group, offered here, went from Hardiment to novelist and bookseller Iain Sinclair, in 1985, likely, again, via Pat Zanelli. Like the photos in Kansas as well as those in the Lorenz collection, many of these have sellotape on the edges, and like the collages in the Lorenz collection, some are still taped together, forming collages themselves or representing collage fragments. Tape shadows on the versos of some of the images both here and at the University of Kansas hint that Burroughs may have created the collages and then, when he began experimenting with the cut-up technique in writing, have cut-up the collages with the intent of applying this same technique to visual imagery. Barry Miles and Jim Pennington -- whose research uncovered most of the information we have about the Hardiment suitcase -- each looked at this collection of photos and attested to its authenticity and importance for gaining perspective on Burroughs' creative artwork in the early years of his career.

In addition to the Kerouac and Ginsberg photos, highlights of this grouping include: a photo booth portrait; a passport photo; and a negative of an unpublished Brion Gysin photograph of Burroughs from 1959 (with contemporary archival print). 32 photographs in all, plus calling cards of Bruno Heinrich and Charles Henri Ford, and a copy of Driffs magazine -- "The Antiquarian and Second Hand Book Fortnightly" -- which includes Part 1 of Iain Sinclair's "Definitive Catalogue" of the Beats -- this part being devoted entirely to the works of William Burroughs, with this album as item number 80 in the catalogue. The condition, wherein the photos are cut up, fragmented, partially taped, all by design, and housed in a 1960s photo album, is fine, as it is. A complete inventory is available on request.

[#033847] $25,000

1988. An original Burroughs painting, which became part of the Seven Deadly Sins exhibition at The Writer's Place, Kansas City, Missouri, in 1993. Acrylic and spray paint on poster board: a gold triangle and heart spray-painted against a background acrylic image of black, blue and gray. Signed by Burroughs. 20" x 32". Mounted and framed to 24" x 36". Fine. Burroughs, whose Naked Lunch, Soft Machine, and numerous other works helped define the Beat generation and redefine the psychedelic novel, also worked in the visual media from the early 1950s on, experimenting first with collages and later with what he called "nagual art" -- art infected by chance, which had the possibility of giving the viewer access to what Burroughs called a "port of entry," an access to a different universe or a different way of seeing our own. In writing, Burroughs adopted the "cut-up" technique, with Brion Gysin, to achieve similar ends: a final product that was, in part, a product of chance or, at the very least, forces beyond the artist's direct control and manipulation. [#024825] $7,500

1988. An original drawing by Wilson for Burroughs' 1989 book Tornado Alley. This image was included in the exhibition "Ports of Entry: William Burroughs and the Arts" that was mounted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1996, and it is reproduced on page 140 of the exhibition catalog. Interestingly, the illustration in the book does not show some of the work that Wilson did, as it was done using nonrepro blue pencil which does not show up when photographed: Wilson's edits didn't appear in Tornado Alley and they don't appear in Ports of Entry, but they are quite visible in the work itself. Wilson, one of the great artists of the underground comix of the 1960s and beyond, whom R. Crumb has said was a major influence on Crumb's own work, collaborated with Burroughs on a number of projects. This is not only a significant work of art, and a significant association with Burroughs, but it is also signed by Wilson, who has added, "To Nelson" next to his signature: Wilson gave this work to his friend Nelson Lyon, who loaned it to the exhibition and is listed in the book as one of the lenders to the exhibit. This is, in effect, a three-way association: Nelson Lyon was the co-producer of Burroughs' Dead City Radio, a 1990 album of Burroughs reading his work (including pieces from Tornado Alley) against a background of experimental music by various artists. 9-3/4" x 6-3/4". Matted and framed. Fine. A notable association copy, and an artifact of one of the great collaborations that Burroughs engaged in. [#028091] $7,500

(Hadley), Ken Lopez Bookseller, (2005). A catalog/brochure describing the Burroughs archive previously known as the "Vaduz archive" and printing in facsimile a number of items from the archive, including Brion Gysin calligraphy, photographs of Burroughs and others, visual poetry by Burroughs, and other items. An overview of the archive, with description of its contents and essays on its history and importance in the context of 20th century literature. The archive was purchased by the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library. Fine in wrappers. [#024827] $20