I'm Jim Camp, the guy behind the synaesthesia press. I'm a letterpress printer, a publisher of limited-edition books and broadsides, and a lifelong book collector. I've been at this for close to 40 years, and most of what I'm offering here has lived on my shelves for decades. Now it's time for these books to move on to new homes. When one finds its way to your shelf, it'll arrive quickly, securely packed, and with no extra fees for shipping or handling. Oh, and don't be afraid to make an offer!
Offering: Jack Kerouac. Pull My Daisy. New York: Grove Press, 1961.
VG in pictorial wraps as published. Light rubbing and minor edgewear to covers, subtle toning to the textblock, tight binding, and clean interior. No writing or marks. A solid, attractive copy of a title almost always found very beat.
This is the first paperback edition of Pull My Daisy, published by Grove Press as an Evergreen Original (E-294) and based on the 1959 short film directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie. Kerouac’s text—improvised narration lifted straight from the recording session—became one of the defining artifacts of Beat cinema. The book reproduces Frank’s photographs from the film and captures the Lower East Side moment when Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky, Larry Rivers, and David Amram turned a Bowery loft into holy ground. It’s a landmark document of the Beat Generation moving from page to film to the broader American imagination.
Kerouac’s involvement in the film is now legendary: a single take of voiceover that transformed the footage into a free-flowing, jazz-timed riff only he could deliver. Frank and Leslie’s film remains a pillar of American avant-garde cinema, and the Grove edition functions as its portable archive—complete with Roy Kuhlman’s unmistakable cover design and the visual language that shaped Grove’s iconic 1960s run. A cornerstone for Kerouac collectors, Frank devotees, and anyone charting the crosscurrents of postwar American art.
A fairly sharp first printing of a Beat Generation essential—perfect for any Kerouac, Robert Frank, or Grove Press collector.
My best pieces never sit around for long, so click the heart on my store page to save me as a seller. I'm also the publisher behind the synaesthesia press, known for its limited-edition books and broadsides, so when you buy here you're buying from a collector and letterpress printer who's been at this longer than I'd like to admit.