Avant-Garde magazine, 5 issues (#6, 8, 10, 13, & 14)

Item Details

1969-1971, wrappers, staple-bound

Good-VG

 A “seminal, but somewhat overlooked by a wider public, magazine, which broke taboos, rattled some nerves and made a few enemies.” Running for only 14 issues from Jan. 1968 to July 1971, it was the third collaborative effort between art director Herb Lubalin & publisher/editor Ralph Ginzburg; the pair had previously collaborated on the magazines Eros  & Fact. Wiki opines that “while it could not be termed obscene, it was filled with creative imagery often caustically critical of American society and government, sexual themes, and (for the time) crude language.”  The magazine also launched “a much maligned and equally lauded typeface of the same name.”

Some highlights of the issues offered here include:  #14 (Summer 1971), 64 pp.: “”Belles-Lettres: A (Nude) Photo-Alphabet,’’ “The Sexual Symbolism of the American Flag.” #13 (Spring 1971) unpaginated: a black-and-white photo portfolio capturing the American public by Alwyn Scott Turner ( who was he/?? Dates?    ); #10 (Jan. 1970), 64 pp. : “Israel Captured” (a photojournalism project from 1970; a series, “The Lust Battalion: Sexual Adventures of the Avant-Garde,’’ paintings from Austrian Jewish artist Friedrich Hundertwasser; a photo essay of nude underage children from “The Virgin Forest”; #8 (Sept 1969), 60 pp.: entire issue featuring the erotic engravings (gravures) of Pablo Picasso. #6 (Jan. 1969) 60 pp. “Breaking Out: A Black Manifesto” by Dick Gregory—first appearance???? “The President’s Golden Zipper.’

Condition of most issues is VG: all clean & unmarked, but the covers of #6 are barely hanging on & have significant rubbing & slight chipping/creasing to extremities. Other issues show less rubbing, some light soil; a dark dime-sized spot to front cover of #8.