Jack Kerouac "Poem About Rimbaud" ca.1959 Predates Yugen & City Lights Versions

Description: Jack Kerouac's Hand Typed "Poem About Rimbaud" Circa 1959. Alternate Earlier Version. Five Hand Typed Pages. Earliest known surviving copy and version. Predates Yugen #6 & the City Lights Books Broadside Versions both printed in 1960. It's also an alternate version as there are many differences. PICKUP ONLY PICKUP ONLY PICKUP ONLY I stumbled upon a typed version of Rimbaud. I was purchasing some old Beat Literature from the descendant of Beat Poet Stephen Tropp. They had found an old trunk of his belongings after he had passed and told me it was full of books, poems, etc... From many different poets and artists. Some of which is now in my collection and definitely confirm it's from Stephen Tropp's personal collection. As many were inscribed directly to Stephen and Gloria Tropp. Long story short. I found hand typed copy of "Poem About Rimbaud" by Jack Kerouac himself. In an alternate version. That came into the possession of poet Stephen Tropp around 1958-60. There were many hand typed and hand written poems in a folder but this one stood out. Stephen Tropp and Jack Kerouac crossed paths most likely through a connection to Yugen Magazine as Tropp was also featured in the Beat Periodical. They also had a few of the same connections. I've done all the research. The final step would be sending it to an authentication company to authenticate my research. Which would all be enclosed for the buyer. I've compared letter for letter with known examples from the BERG at the New York Public Library. I've taken it to my local museum to authenticate that it is infact typed and not printed. Which it is. There weren't easily available copiers in the late 1950s. So if you wanted a copy back then, you typed it. And Kerouac was known the to the fastest typist in the group. So... The five typed pages (see photos) are what you'd receive(enclosed in a Rigid One Touch Archival Holder) plus a letter of provenance from the descendant of Stephen Tropp as tho the chain of ownership. I will also enclose photocopies of all pertinent information I've collected. The other photos are the proof of this being typed by Kerouac and are not listed for sale. The following photos show the differences between the poems versions. Then Letter by Letter comparison with known Kerouac typed items from the same time. I've also included a photo (for show only, not included as it lives at the BERG ) of the Berg's earliest Rimbaud example. As well as typed examples from the BERG from the time period. Again the Berg examples are for reference only and not for sale here. But they do show a typing style almost identical to my example. Down to the "***" symbols. As crazy as it sounds, this all may come down to the star symbols used "***" as they are not entirely common on all typewriters. And the ones that have it are in different patterns. The ones used in my poem match the ones used by Kerouac from known BERG examples. See photos. And most likely are from a 1950s Hermes typewriter. I've contacted everyone from the Beat Museum to Gerald Nicosia and a few other Kerouac scholars. All of which are quite sure it's Kerouac's. Nicosia actually contacted the Tropp's when researching Memory Babe. Which puts the Kerouac and Tropp connection together as well. And another Kerouac scholar very recently said upon seeing it and I quote: "It's real. I'm 98%. It just smells real." Another interesting piece of evidence is the "Canaletto Death" in the published version Versus "Guardini Death" in my copy. It's again in my opinion an example of it being authentic because why would you change the word otherwise so drastically? Making this version an Unedited version or early edit perhaps. Buildings /Buildungs error also pops out. Also included will be a letter of provenance from the descendant of Stephen Tropp. Stating some of what I've already mentioned and solidifying the chain of custody of the papers as from Tropp to them, from them directly to me. So you have a hand typed poem in the style Kerouac typed. On a Typewriter Kerouac was known to use. The format of the poem is typed the same as Kerouac's published Rimbaud but is slightly different. The stars symbol *** is a huge clue. The Tropp Kerouac Connection was verified by Gerald Nicosia. And the Yugen connection as well is a big one possibly connected through Amari Baraka (LeRoi Jones). And a recent scholar who is near positive it's the real deal. My educated guess is this was perhaps Kerouac's Original Poem submission to Yugen Magazine by Jack Kerouac. Later used in and Edited Version in Yugen#6 and then a City Lights Books Broadside after both in limited quantities. Hand Typed by Jack Kerouac. And is the earliest known version aside from the original hand written version which is either locked away inside a collection(due to the Sampas' selling off pieces throughout the past year's or lost to history. How Tropp acquired this copy we'll never know but all the connections are there as it being a Yugen Magazine connection. And he was documented to have hung out in that circle. Also included in the listing photos as reference is an old Henry Miller quote about Rimbaud and his "Harari" boy. As it's written in my copy. Whereas the published copy states Havari boy. This is funny to me because it's as if Harari should be the correct wording based on the name and description of Djami being talked about because he's Ethiopian. Knowing now some of the controversial Amiri Baraka things that were said and written. I wouldn't hold it past him as an editor changing Harari from an Ethiopian or African word as in my Version and by all research the proper word to "Havari" which describes more of an Arab boy I think. But Harari girl sent back to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was not changed to Havari Girl? Just a thought. Because it's such a blatant changing of the word in a few places. And Baraka's views were not always on the "Right side of History". But many people's views aren't. So I don't hold it against him. But I am by no means a linguistic expert so this is just a thought. As a Kerouac Dealer and Collector, this is one of the most interesting recent finds of an alternate, early version of an iconic Kerouac work. Many letters notes etc.. have been found or come up but not an actual work for a few years if not decades. This was a version lost and now found. Feel free to ask questions. As there is no official COA simply my personal research. And yes it's PICK UP ONLY. I will not ship this item. If it's within Canada there's a chance I could hand deliver it. Like literally fly to where you are. Otherwise US residents would need to pick it up personally in Canada. Due to rarity, fragility and insurance purposes. Condition. Good. Moderate handling wear and edge wear. The last page shows the most wear as it was the page on the outside while folded. Has a loss to the word heaven as seen in photos. Soiling in a few areas as seen in photos. But mostly in the title page. Area's of chipping and loss on every sheet. Heavy tanning and the pages are quite delicate. Last page has a larger tear as seen in photos to bottom third. and other pages have a small amount of tearing and cracking. Overall... Amazing in any condition. Poem has been opened once to take photos and once to determine it was typed. It remains in its folded state in a Rigid Plastic Archival Holder. Please see photos for complete condition. Check out my page for more Beat Generation Literature, Art and M

Price: 67500 CAD

Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba

End Time: 2024-09-16T05:13:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 73.89 CAD