Beschreibung:

R. Crumb Handwritten Letter to Marty Pahls, February 16, 1966 Author: Crumb, Robert Place: Publisher: Date: Description: Single-sheet letter measuring 9"x12", hand-written and with "Marty" in fancy script, with two large initial letters, and with "LSD" and "ON THE ROAD" in balloon lettering, dated February 16, 1966 (Dateline: "Apt. 3B—178—F / 501 East 11th St. / NEW YORK CITY"), signed "R. Crumb." Good or better condition, original folds, a few chips, tears, dog-ears, soil spots, and one piece of tape. Phone number ("613-2315") marked in pencil at top margin, seemingly in Marty Pahls' hand. PBA asked Mike Britt, a mutual friend of Pahls and Crumb, if the phone number looked familiar. Mr. Britt's response: "Robert says right at the beginning of the letter that he can't afford a phone, so I doubt that this is his number in NYC. Just a thought, it might be Kurtzman's home phone. Robert and Marty never had a phone at their first apartment in Cleveland (10912 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland 6, Ohio) and I don't recall one at their later apartment (1728 East 115th Street, Cleveland 6). Back in those meager days, they both thought that a phone wasn't a necessity, nor was a car...but of course neither of them drove." Provenance: From the Collection of R. Crumb, who explains: "I got these letters back after [Pahls] died in 1989, found among his possessions." Note: This letter is not collected in Fantagraphics' "Your Vigor For Life Appalls Me: Robert Crumb Letters, 1958-1977." "I'm all alone now...Danie has left.. Yep... SHE left ME, buddy..." Crumb informs Marty Pahls that his wife of two years, Dana Crumb, has left him and returned to her parents. Crumb explains to Marty Pahls: "I'm all alone now... Danie has left.. Yep... SHE left ME, buddy... We had this big fight about two weeks ago... I got very disgusted and told her I absolutely didn't love her anymore.... She left the next morning." Crumb's marriage to Dana was a mess. In his introduction to The Complete Crumb Vol. 3, Pahls quotes Crumb as saying, "I never got over the feeling that she wanted to suffocate me. It took me nine years to get away." Although the separation described in this letter was short-lived, the underlying issues that doomed the marriage are evident: "It got more depressing by the day... I couldn't even get horny there toward the end... And now I long for her... What's wrong with me...." Crumb explains to Pahls that LSD has been helping him to adjust negative personality patterns ("A good drug, that stuff"). Then, invoking Kerouac, he speaks of striking out west, either to San Francisco or Hollywood, where former HELP-meet Terry Gilliam's connections will "get me in... and you too"). In just another year Crumb will indeed move to San Francisco, where a personal and artistic breakthrough that he attributes to the effects of LSD spurred the creation of ZAP #1 and the birth of the comix underground. A limited edition of 100 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues are available. Over 200 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com or visit: https://www.pbagalleries.com/content/comics/. R. Crumb says, "I found [PBA's catalogue] so interesting that I am saving it for the texts that accompany the comics which were put up for auction. This is some of the best commentary I’ve yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of the post-war horror comics. Great. Priceless." Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2021 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com. Lot Amendments Condition: Item number: 324078