Nov 7, 2023 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
65
Hunter S. Thompson for Sheriff! A Freak Power poster
THOMPSON, HUNTER S. and BENTON, THOMAS W.
Thompson For Sheriff. [Aspen: after 1970]. An original silkscreened three-color poster, pencil signed by the artist Thomas W. Benton in the margin, inscribed "To Taylor" and initialed "H.S.T." in gold ink within the image at lower right. 26 x 20 inches (65 x 50 cm); framed. Very fine with dark colors and a bold inscription. A short tear to the upper right corner expertly mended.
THE MOST ICONIC POSTER OF THE FREAK POWER MOVEMENT. The most recognizable emblem of Hunter S. Thompson's 1970 bid for sheriff of Aspen, Colorado is undoubtedly the white badge with a red fist clenching a green peyote button. This powerful design was one of the most prevalent on the campaign trail itself and in an excellent period photograph Thompson can be seen having his head shaved beneath a copy. Rarely encountered signed by the artist Thomas W. Benton and with the presentation inscription from Thompson. Without a doubt, Thompson For Sheriff is a desirable artifact of a most important American counterculture political movement.
Thompson returned from the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago disgusted by the violent suppression of political protests by law enforcement and the observable disconnect between corrupt government officials and the people. At home in Aspen, Thompson was also appalled to witness hippies and intellectuals subjected to absurd arrests and abuses of power. In 1969, at Thompson's suggestion, "hippie lawyer" Joe Edwards ran for mayor of Aspen. Thompson covered the election for Rolling Stone, writing himself into the pivotal gonzo article The Battle of Aspen by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff). Despite Edwards' defeat, Hunter S. Thompson decided to act, pulling aside the cloak of journalism and inserting himself into the political sphere.
Thompson said: "It's a dangerous situation when the enforcement arm is totally out of communication with the reality. It's time we either bridge that chasm with some kind of realistic law enforcement, or else I don't think it's going to be bridged in this country. We're going to have a revolution."
Thompson's campaign was radical, organized, controversial and legendary. His platform had six points: 1) Rip up the streets and replace them with sod; 2) Change the name of Aspen to Fat City to deter "greedheads, land-rapers and other human jackals from capitalizing on the name 'Aspen'; 3) Punish dishonest dope dealers; 4) Only allow residents to hunt and fish in the area to create a game preserve and to stop the "blood-thirsty geeks keep swarming in here each autumn to shoot everything they see"; 5) The sheriff and deputies are to be unarmed; and 6) "It will be the policy of the Sheriff's office savagely to harass all those engaged in any form of land-rape."
Thompson further vowed to fire the conservative officials that held a majority in local government. He shaved his head bald to be distinct from his "long-hair" adversaries. When a major dynamite theft happened in the area, a threat was received that Aspen's City Hall would be blown up only if Thompson won the election. To counter the Freak Power movement, the Republican and Democrat candidates for sheriff agreed not to run against one another, rendering victory an uphill battle for Thompson. On election night, his Owl Farm compound was turned into a campaign headquarters protected by armed guards. Thompson took the news of his defeat in stride and offered (with an American flag around his neck): "Unfortunately, I proved what I set out to prove ... that the American Dream really is f_cked."
The silkscreened posters created by Thomas W. Benton for Thompson's campaign are rare and iconic with this the most identifiable. The image graces the cover of the Daniel Joseph Watkins' 2015 book Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff and was the lead image in the New York Times March 2021 review of Watkins' exhibition at Poster House (See The Great Art Behind Hunter S. Thompson's Run for Sheriff, in New York Times, 4 March 2021).
Sold for $3,780
Estimated at $4,000 - $6,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
THOMPSON, HUNTER S. and BENTON, THOMAS W.
Thompson For Sheriff. [Aspen: after 1970]. An original silkscreened three-color poster, pencil signed by the artist Thomas W. Benton in the margin, inscribed "To Taylor" and initialed "H.S.T." in gold ink within the image at lower right. 26 x 20 inches (65 x 50 cm); framed. Very fine with dark colors and a bold inscription. A short tear to the upper right corner expertly mended.
THE MOST ICONIC POSTER OF THE FREAK POWER MOVEMENT. The most recognizable emblem of Hunter S. Thompson's 1970 bid for sheriff of Aspen, Colorado is undoubtedly the white badge with a red fist clenching a green peyote button. This powerful design was one of the most prevalent on the campaign trail itself and in an excellent period photograph Thompson can be seen having his head shaved beneath a copy. Rarely encountered signed by the artist Thomas W. Benton and with the presentation inscription from Thompson. Without a doubt, Thompson For Sheriff is a desirable artifact of a most important American counterculture political movement.
Thompson returned from the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago disgusted by the violent suppression of political protests by law enforcement and the observable disconnect between corrupt government officials and the people. At home in Aspen, Thompson was also appalled to witness hippies and intellectuals subjected to absurd arrests and abuses of power. In 1969, at Thompson's suggestion, "hippie lawyer" Joe Edwards ran for mayor of Aspen. Thompson covered the election for Rolling Stone, writing himself into the pivotal gonzo article The Battle of Aspen by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff). Despite Edwards' defeat, Hunter S. Thompson decided to act, pulling aside the cloak of journalism and inserting himself into the political sphere.
Thompson said: "It's a dangerous situation when the enforcement arm is totally out of communication with the reality. It's time we either bridge that chasm with some kind of realistic law enforcement, or else I don't think it's going to be bridged in this country. We're going to have a revolution."
Thompson's campaign was radical, organized, controversial and legendary. His platform had six points: 1) Rip up the streets and replace them with sod; 2) Change the name of Aspen to Fat City to deter "greedheads, land-rapers and other human jackals from capitalizing on the name 'Aspen'; 3) Punish dishonest dope dealers; 4) Only allow residents to hunt and fish in the area to create a game preserve and to stop the "blood-thirsty geeks keep swarming in here each autumn to shoot everything they see"; 5) The sheriff and deputies are to be unarmed; and 6) "It will be the policy of the Sheriff's office savagely to harass all those engaged in any form of land-rape."
Thompson further vowed to fire the conservative officials that held a majority in local government. He shaved his head bald to be distinct from his "long-hair" adversaries. When a major dynamite theft happened in the area, a threat was received that Aspen's City Hall would be blown up only if Thompson won the election. To counter the Freak Power movement, the Republican and Democrat candidates for sheriff agreed not to run against one another, rendering victory an uphill battle for Thompson. On election night, his Owl Farm compound was turned into a campaign headquarters protected by armed guards. Thompson took the news of his defeat in stride and offered (with an American flag around his neck): "Unfortunately, I proved what I set out to prove ... that the American Dream really is f_cked."
The silkscreened posters created by Thomas W. Benton for Thompson's campaign are rare and iconic with this the most identifiable. The image graces the cover of the Daniel Joseph Watkins' 2015 book Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff and was the lead image in the New York Times March 2021 review of Watkins' exhibition at Poster House (See The Great Art Behind Hunter S. Thompson's Run for Sheriff, in New York Times, 4 March 2021).
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection, Nov 7, 2023
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Successful Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps Tops $1 Million!
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November 7, 2023 Sale Featured the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana & Travel
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on November 7, 2023 topped $1 million amid competitive international bidding. Offerings in this popular sale spanned early illuminated manuscripts to modern literary first editions.
The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana and Travel comprised fascinating material that attracted bidders from around the world. Highlighting the collection was a copy of the first Latin edition of the earliest published collection of voyages, including those of Columbus and Vespucci: the 1508 Milan Fracanzo da Montalboddo, which achieved a strong $239,400. The collection also featured a rare uncut copy of Livio Sanuto's 1588 atlas of Africa that doubled its estimate at $25,200, as well as a group of 19th and early 20th century material relating to Zanzibar that attracted intense competition, sending the lots soaring over expectations. (Read more about Esmond Bradley Martin below.)
Property of other owners was highlighted by a first edition of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking scientific work, On the Origin of Species, 1859, which realized $94,500. This copy bore provenance of Charles Darwin's great-grandson Quentin Keynes, to the naturalist Richard Bayard Dominick, thence by descent to the consignor.
Robert Browning's first edition copy of John Keats’ poem, Endymion, 1818, sold for $37,800, many times its $7,000-10,000 estimate. The poem begins with the well-known verse, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."
The selection of livres des artistes featured François-Louis Schmied's Daphne in a major Art Deco binding by Pierre Legrain, 1924, one of 140 copies. The book tripled its $8,000-12,000 estimate, selling for $32,760.
Manuscripts in the sale were highlighted by a medieval manuscript on paper, Calculus temporum Ecclesiasticus, which sailed past its estimate of $3,000-5,000 to achieve an exceptional $31,500. This fascinating calendrical manuscript in Latin, circa 1360, possibly English in origin, was once the property of antiquary and collector Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872).
100 years before the Revolution: from Plymouth Colony to the Salem Witch Trials - The Victor Gulotta Collection, offered a curated collection of 17th and 18th century manuscripts documenting life in colonial New England. Among the rarities were a 1691 document signed by two notorious Salem witch trials magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin that realized $5,670, a document from 1686/87 signed by Edmund Andros as Governor of the Dominion of New England that sold for $5,670, and a 1656 Boston court document relating to a divorce case that achieved $6,300, all three exceeding their estimates.
Esmond Bradley Martin
Esmond Bradley Martin (1941-2018) was educated as a geographer and philosopher. He and his wife Chryssee had an enduring fascination with Africa, and settled in Nairobi, Kenya, in the mid-1970s. He wrote extensively, oftentimes in conjunction with his wife, publishing works including Zanzibar. Tradition and Revolution, Hamish Hamilton, 1978; Cargoes of the east. The ports, trade, and culture of the Arabian Seas and western Indian Ocean, Elm Tree Press, 1978; and many other works on African history and conservation. In the late 1970s, he began extensive research into the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, which included substantial stints incognito posing as a buyer of illicit wildlife products. For a while, he served as special envoy for rhino conservation for the United Nations. He continued this work until 2018 , when tragically he was stabbed to death in his Nairobi home
For about thirty years, beginning in the mid-1960s, Esmond Bradley Martin assiduously collected books and manuscripts on Africa and its history, acquiring a phenomenal collection of letters by many of the major English explorers of the nineteenth century, as well as numerous rarities from earlier centuries. He was buying at a time when troves of such material surfaced frequently at English auctions. Doyle was privileged to offer the first selection of his collection in the November 7 auction. A second and final portion will be offered early next year.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141, ext 248, or Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext. 234, or email Books@Doyle.com
