The RETURN of CAPPELENS FORSLAG’S legendary EASTER LOTTERY! 1st & 2nd Prize: First Edition, First Printing Hardcover Copy of Allen Ginsberg Photographs

It’s that time of the month again, friends! The rent is due. A few rents are due, in fact. And when that happens Cappelens Forslag can always be trusted to disappear into the vaults, come back out and offer up some toe-curling, mouthwatering, unbelievably wonderful rare treasure, raffle it off for a fraction of its worth, then mourn the loss (but also stay in business). Someone will be ecstatic by the time this is over, that counts for something.

So! What have we got for you this time? Well, only the closest thing to a family photo album of Beat royalty, snapped by its ultimate insider and presented with personal commentary on luxurious paper! TWICE!

We are raffling off two first edition, first printing, hardcover copies of Allen Ginsberg Photographs. From an edition of 5,100 copies, Ginsberg's collection of photographs of his close friends includes portraits of Kerouac, Cassady, Burroughs, Orlovsky, Snyder, Corso, and Leary, with some of such luminaries as Robert Frank, Basil Bunting, Philip Whalen, Jello Biafra, Herbert Huncke, Lou Reed, John Giorno and Ken Kesey, all with revealing descriptive annotations by Ginsberg in facsimile. Original grey cloth, titles to front cover and spine in blind. With dust jacket, but sadly without their original slipcase.

Let’s have a look. First Prize:

There are some scuff marks and light wear on the dust jacket here, but otherwise, as you can see, it’s nice and clean. This delight can be yours for the price of a cup of coffee. Dive into the rich and detailed history of the beats and their era! Lord it over your envious friends! Sell it for a thousand euro and spend the money on drugs! The Beats would have. But seriously, be nice to it. We’ll worry once it leaves home. One lucky winner will provide a new home for this magnificent book.

BUT WAIT! There’s more: Included with your lottery tickets is another chance at happiness. The second prize:

This copy is in nearly as fine condition as the first prize, but not as clean on the title page. For some reason Ginsberg himself has messed this page up, scribbling and drawing a rather poorly executed image of the Buddha. Over two whole pages! According to the inscription this copy was given to Olav Angell in Oslo in 1993. Which makes sense as Angell was the preeminent Norwegian translator of beat poetry. Ginsberg’s signature is also on here.

Still, this copy is almost as clean as the first one, so we’ll happily offer it up as a consolation prize.

Here are some images from the book: