I don't remember where I bought this book, which is odd because though I never write it down, I always tend to remember. Not so in the case of this odd little book that peered out from the shelf at me this morning, Akbar del Piombo's "The Boiler Maker".
My father kept a log of all the books he owned. Where he bought them, how much he paid, if a book was given as a gift, books he borrowed or lent, and a list of books he was still searching for throughout his whole life that is in itself a rather impressive document considering my father's library consisted of over 17,000 books when he passed away.
It had always been my plan to go through my own collection and add to it to my father's logs to the best of my memory. As I scan my bookshelves (which hold about 2,000 books) I rarely draw a blank when looking at the spines and if I do, it's mostly because it's a book that Monsieur Redacteur bought before we met.
So "The Boiler Maker" was taunting me. I picked it up and looked at the cover to refresh my memory. Nothing. I didn't even realise that the book was published jointly in America through The Citadel Press and by The Olympia Press in France. There is no price on the upper right hand corner of the first blank page that so many of my books have either.
I remember why I bought it. The cover intrigued me and it wasn't expensive.
And the inside was even more intriguing.
(I searched the Internets in vain for images from Rubington's "The Boiler Maker" and because of the fragility of the spine on my copy, I couldn't scan it so here's a few images taken with a camera.)
Published in 1961, "The Boiler Maker" was written by Akbar del Piombo and the collages were made by Norman Rubington - who were the same person.
I found an obituary from The Times for Norman Rubington (which was his real name). Let me just say that despite the expense, the time, and the space it takes up in my life that it is in moments like this where my bibliophilia brings me the most delight. I knew nothing about the history behind this book when I bought it. It sat on my shelf for nearly four years and today it's literally made my day.
Norman Rubington arrived to Paris in the 1950s to paint and became part of the expatriate scene that included William Burroughs, Alexander Trocchi, Samuel Beckett, and Richard Sever (editor of The Paris Review). Together the group worked with Maurice Giordias to edit, advise, and write for The Olympia Press.
Under the nom de plume of Akbar del Piombo, Norman Rubington wrote a number of "pornographic" books for The Olympia Press. As himself he made collages to accompany his writing that were inspired by Max Ernst's work in "Une semaine de bonte", the more famous sequel to "La femme de 100 Têtes".
Akbar and Norman's work was very popular with GIs (soldiers) visiting Paris during the 50's and 60's when his works were published. Using scenes in Arab harems and exaggerated, often extremely funny, orgy scenes, his work was characterised by much tongue-in-cheek humour and definite literary quality far beyond the demands of the publisher. There was also a strong streak of social and political satire in his work. Subjects he used included the drug scene, war, the art world, and society in general.
Picasso had already introduced the art world to the medium of collage, but it wasn't until the Surrealists adapted it for their vision(s) that it became something more. Gertrude Stein was the first to collage words in 1914 with "Tender Buttons", which paved the way for works such as Henry Miller's "Black Spring" and the works of William Burroughs like Naked Lunch and his famous Cut-Up Trilogy (you can read a post on The Third Mind here).
It's after writing this post (while listening to Lord Buckley) and looking at this slim little volume I'd ignored since its initial purchase that it dawns on me. Yesterday while I had friends over I pulled out something I had been working on intently when I decided to use the method of collage to help me with my writing. I bought a sketch book and started collecting stuff. I took pictures, printed things from the Internet, and ended up with what an artist friend of mine called "Ama's Art Brut".
The truth is collage has always inspired me. I made collages as a teenager quite a bit, using magazines and random words to express myself. My favourite artist is Henry Darger. I'd love to own his book about the Vivian Girls, but it's never been published in full.
I can't draw, but by borrowing images I can still make art - or at least that's the way I feel today because Rubington could draw (he was a very successful painter and even won the Prix de Rome) and yet obviously loved the art of collage as much as I do.
As far as inspiration goes, this little book has paid for itself. Who cares if I can't remember how it came to be a part of my life? (Okay, a little part of me still cares.)
Oh and as a massive fan of Terry Gilliam (and the Monty Pythons in general), I also want to mention that without Picasso, Ernst, and especially Rubington we wouldn't have this - also known as the best Christmas card ever.
My father kept a log of all the books he owned. Where he bought them, how much he paid, if a book was given as a gift, books he borrowed or lent, and a list of books he was still searching for throughout his whole life that is in itself a rather impressive document considering my father's library consisted of over 17,000 books when he passed away.
It had always been my plan to go through my own collection and add to it to my father's logs to the best of my memory. As I scan my bookshelves (which hold about 2,000 books) I rarely draw a blank when looking at the spines and if I do, it's mostly because it's a book that Monsieur Redacteur bought before we met.
So "The Boiler Maker" was taunting me. I picked it up and looked at the cover to refresh my memory. Nothing. I didn't even realise that the book was published jointly in America through The Citadel Press and by The Olympia Press in France. There is no price on the upper right hand corner of the first blank page that so many of my books have either.
I remember why I bought it. The cover intrigued me and it wasn't expensive.
And the inside was even more intriguing.
(I searched the Internets in vain for images from Rubington's "The Boiler Maker" and because of the fragility of the spine on my copy, I couldn't scan it so here's a few images taken with a camera.)
Published in 1961, "The Boiler Maker" was written by Akbar del Piombo and the collages were made by Norman Rubington - who were the same person.
I found an obituary from The Times for Norman Rubington (which was his real name). Let me just say that despite the expense, the time, and the space it takes up in my life that it is in moments like this where my bibliophilia brings me the most delight. I knew nothing about the history behind this book when I bought it. It sat on my shelf for nearly four years and today it's literally made my day.
Norman Rubington arrived to Paris in the 1950s to paint and became part of the expatriate scene that included William Burroughs, Alexander Trocchi, Samuel Beckett, and Richard Sever (editor of The Paris Review). Together the group worked with Maurice Giordias to edit, advise, and write for The Olympia Press.
Under the nom de plume of Akbar del Piombo, Norman Rubington wrote a number of "pornographic" books for The Olympia Press. As himself he made collages to accompany his writing that were inspired by Max Ernst's work in "Une semaine de bonte", the more famous sequel to "La femme de 100 Têtes".
 | |
her fiery smile will fall down from the hillsides
as black frost and white rust |
 |
| accompanied by immaculate parasites, Santa Claus allows himself to be controlled from afar by means of lateral appendages |
Akbar and Norman's work was very popular with GIs (soldiers) visiting Paris during the 50's and 60's when his works were published. Using scenes in Arab harems and exaggerated, often extremely funny, orgy scenes, his work was characterised by much tongue-in-cheek humour and definite literary quality far beyond the demands of the publisher. There was also a strong streak of social and political satire in his work. Subjects he used included the drug scene, war, the art world, and society in general.
Picasso had already introduced the art world to the medium of collage, but it wasn't until the Surrealists adapted it for their vision(s) that it became something more. Gertrude Stein was the first to collage words in 1914 with "Tender Buttons", which paved the way for works such as Henry Miller's "Black Spring" and the works of William Burroughs like Naked Lunch and his famous Cut-Up Trilogy (you can read a post on The Third Mind here).
It's after writing this post (while listening to Lord Buckley) and looking at this slim little volume I'd ignored since its initial purchase that it dawns on me. Yesterday while I had friends over I pulled out something I had been working on intently when I decided to use the method of collage to help me with my writing. I bought a sketch book and started collecting stuff. I took pictures, printed things from the Internet, and ended up with what an artist friend of mine called "Ama's Art Brut".
The truth is collage has always inspired me. I made collages as a teenager quite a bit, using magazines and random words to express myself. My favourite artist is Henry Darger. I'd love to own his book about the Vivian Girls, but it's never been published in full.
I can't draw, but by borrowing images I can still make art - or at least that's the way I feel today because Rubington could draw (he was a very successful painter and even won the Prix de Rome) and yet obviously loved the art of collage as much as I do.
As far as inspiration goes, this little book has paid for itself. Who cares if I can't remember how it came to be a part of my life? (Okay, a little part of me still cares.)
Oh and as a massive fan of Terry Gilliam (and the Monty Pythons in general), I also want to mention that without Picasso, Ernst, and especially Rubington we wouldn't have this - also known as the best Christmas card ever.
