Destroy this collection

Front facade of Houghton Library

Hallucinex 1This post is part of an ongoing series featuring material from the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection. 

Today’s featured item from the Santo Domingo Collection is L’internationale hallucinex (Le Soleil Noir: 1970), a collection of writings by French, American, and English countercultural authors in the form of a series of pamphlets. The collection announces its subversive intent on its case: “Revue – tract à détruire” is printed next to a collage of a knife stabbing an eye. Contained within are texts and images by William S. Burroughs, Claude Pélieu, Jeff Nuttal, Ed Sanders, and others. Distinguishing this copy is an original screen printing of a comic strip by illustrator José Sánchez, rolled and housed in a second compartment of the volume’s slipcase. The print is numbered 13/100, suggesting that one hundred copies of L’internationale hallucinex were thus issued.

Hallucinex 2

Hallucinex 3

L’internationale hallucinex: HN18.I6 1970a; HOLLIS number 5401109

Thanks to rare book cataloger Ryan Wheeler for contributing this post.