OLYMPIA PRESS, BURROUGHS AND GREEK LOVE ROBINSON (C.J. BRADBURY) Williams Mix, ONE OF ONLY SIX UN...

OLYMPIA PRESS, BURROUGHS AND GREEK LOVE ROBINSON (C.J. BRADBURY) Williams Mix, ONE OF ONLY SIX UNCORRECTED PROOF COPIES, THIS COPY SIGNED BY WILLIAM BURROUGHS on the dedication leaf , and additionally inscribed by him on the title-page 'I'd rather read Winny the Poo [sic] Bradbury Robinson', printed on recto only, publisher's brown printed wrappers, small 4to (215 x 180mm.), The Olympia Press, [1971]; together with a small group of manuscript and printed material (including cover design, and TLS from Maurice Girondia) relating to proposals for the publication of the book, see footnote (small quantity) Footnotes: EXTREMELY SCARCE UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY OF WILLIAMS MIX signed by the dedicatee William Burroughs, who also wrote the introduction and was instrumental in persuading the Olympia Press, which had published The Naked Lunch , to accept the work for publication. Having produced this uncorrected proof in only six copies, such was the controversy of the pederast subject matter that the Olympia Press eventually withdrew their support and never published the title - there being 'no getting away from the fact that this is a book whose literary engine is fuelled by the pleasures and pains of sexual desire for 10 to 12 year old boys, in much the same way that Burroughs' own work is driven by an obsession with addiction and control' (Matthew L. Stevens, Beatdom website, which provides a detailed history of the work and Burroughs' contribution). Bradbury Robinson, at the time a young Cambridge graduate working as Head of the English Department at a Home Counties prep school, had written a first draft in 1967 but, despite interest from Calder & Boyers, not found a publisher at that time. In 1974 Bradbury Robinson and Timothy d'Arch Smith again looked close to publishing the work, as attested to by the material accompanying the lot. Additional material comprises: 1. Typed letter signed from Maurice Girodias, founder of the Olympia Press, 13 March 1974, to Bradbury Robinson, discussing a proposed publication of a limited edition. 2. Two typed letters signed, from the proposed printers (Morrison & Gibb Ltd.), 13 and 30 September 1974, addressed to Timothy D' Arch Smith, about printing costs, etc. for a proposed edition of the book. 3. Manuscript description by Bradbury Robinson of his book for the proposed inside flap of the dust wrapper, one-page, on the headed note paper of Ampleforth Abbey, with a printed proof of the text including proposed price of £4. 4. An original pencil sketch for the proposed design for the dust-jacket, depicting an indolent school boy seated upon a chair piled high with books. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com