Between the Covers

Unbound. Plaster cast of William S. Burroughs's right hand created by Caroline Gosselin as part of her Bandaged Poets Series with several accompanying photographs taken by Gerard Malanga of the casting process, Burroughs holding the finished hand, and of Gregory Corso. The unsigned hand is 5" x 2¾" x 7" with a rectangular base and is assembled from two separate molds of the front and back of Burroughs's hand which were then affixed together. Fine with a touch of toning from being handled. Accompanied by four original photographic prints of Burroughs holding the hand, each a different size: 13¾" x 11", 9¾" x 8", 7" x 5½", and 7" x 5". All are fine except one which has been cut down from a larger photo and has a somewhat ragged top and foredge, near fine. Also included is a long, narrow photo strip measuring 63" x 3½" with 36 separate images: 24 of Burroughs's hand being cast; four of Burroughs holding the hand (but different from the larger images); and eight of Gregory Corso, presumably present when the cast was made, sitting by a window. The strip is Signed on the verso: "Gerard Malanga '79" with "739" stamped nearby, though there is some reason to believe the photographs, (or at least a few) were taken by Ira Cohen who helped conceive of the series and married Gosselin in 1981. Reportedly only two copies of the cast were made; the other is reportedly at the Beinecke Library at Yale.

Item #364644