D.L.F. Buffalo Position Paper |
A Dylanological Introduction to Tarantula |
Andrea Brillo's version (below) has text printed on one side only, in two columns, numbered from 1 to 72. | |
Below: TARANTULA BY ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, stamped "by Robert Zimmerman", bootleg edition, 1969, UK, Compendium Books, London. The first edition was sold at The Isle of Wight festival, among other places. White stapled wraps and mimeographed sheets in black ink, repeatedly stamped “TARANTULA by ROBERT ZIMMERMAN” on the front and the back in red, black and blue inks, 56 pages.
Front |
Back |
Below are some alternate stampings; as they were hand stamped, all the covers were different:
... and more ... |
Below: same, bootleg edition late 1969 / 1970, UK, A4 size, no publisher's name, 61 printed pages.
This edition includes an interview of Bob Dylan by Jann Wenner published in Rolling Stone 29 November 1969.
Wimp Press, Hibbing, 1971, 2nd edition, 1000 copies |
Bootleg, USA 1971. A.J. Weberman produced this edition with cover by underground cartoonist S. Clay Wilson |
same, alternate colour |
Below: Space Press, 94 pages. "All rights Ripped Off 1971". There is a possible connection with the underground magazine SPACE CITY! which published parts of TARANTULA in May 1971. Thank you to Andrea Brillo for the information and scans of this rare document. |
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Space Press 1971 |
same, back |
Apart from complete bootleg editions, some underground magazines published extracts of Bob Dylan's book:
REGION 5, last issue (undated, may be 1967). The magazine includes the first chapter from TARANTULA, however in a form somewhat different from the published text. Titled in the book: 'Guns, the Falcon's Mouthbook & Gashcat Unpunished' the chapter appears here under the title 'Guns, the Falcon's Notebook & Gasheat Unpunished' (the second alteration at least, is presumably a typo). |
GEORGIA STRAIGHT, 2-9 December 1970, Canada, 16 page supplement to the magazine. After series of excerpts of TARANTULA published in 1968 and stopped by Bob Dylan lawyers, in December 1970, the magazine published the whole book as a supplement. More details here. |
HOTCHA! is a publication produced in Switzerland by Urban Gwerder that reproduced in 1971 the pages from GEORGIA STRAIGHT 2-9 December 1970 (Pages 2 – 12 and page 14), with an extract of the Jann Wenner interview where Dylan mentions TARANTULA, and a brief commentary in German. More details here. |
SPACE CITY! 25 May 1971, 'Special Pull-Out Music Supplement', includes two pages of excerpts of Bob Dylan's book |
BROADSIDE magazine handbill with an extract of the book. Unknown date (1971?) |
Below: THE PAPER Vol. 1, # 5, Santa Cruz, Ca., Saturday 1 February 1969. Thank you to Andrea Brillo for the information and scans of this rare document. |
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Below: TARANTULA, by Bob Dylan, Macmillan, 1966 uncorrected proof, 68 pages. These proofs - of which only "a few copies" were produced, according to publisher Macmillan's press release - are dated 3 July, 1966 ("376"). A copy, offered for sale ($10,000) in November 2013 wears "pub. date: August 1966 Price: $3.95 (tent.)" in holograph ink at the top of the front cover. The proofs were printed five years before the book was actually published. Read more about it: www.booktryst.com.
1966 Macmillan uncorrected proof |
Unused dust jacket proof for the original hardcover edition, circa 1966 |
Below: Macmillan original galley or printing proof. The text is the same, but there is more text on each page than released. It is said that the first bootleg editions were made after galley photocopies like this one; 78 pages, with plastic ringbound. (information Magne Karlstad, black binder: Tony Glover's collection)
Project of cover #1, circa 1971 |
Project of cover #2, circa 1971 |
First official publication: The Macmillan Company, NY, 1971, original copyright 1966, hardback, 137 pages |
Taiwan 1971, 'Macmillan', 1st pressing, hardcover. This is probably a pirate edition, only legal in Taiwan when published |
MacGibbon & Kee, London 1971, 137 pages, with a comment by Michael Gray on the dustjacket, hardcover. ISBN 0 261 63337 6 |
NY, Bantam Books June 1972, 149 pages, paperback, No ISBN A promo poster for this edition can be seen here. |
Panther Books 1972, 124 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-586-03753-5 |
Panther 1973, 124 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-586-03753-5. (This edition has been reprinted with the same cover in 1975 and 1979) |
Panther 1975, 124 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-586-03753-5 |
NY, Penguin Books 1977, 137 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-1400-4572-4 |
Panther 1979, 124 pages. ISBN 0-586-03753-5 |
Granada Publishing 1982, UK, paperback, ISBN 0-586-03753-5 |
St. Martin's Press USA, 1st printing, January 1994, 137 pages, paperback, ISBN 0-312-10554-1 |
St. Martin's Griffin USA, 2nd printing, 1994, 137 pages, paperback, ISBN 0-312-10554-1 |
bilingual Swedish/English edition, includes a Klas Burling interview CD, Bakhåll 2000, 192 pages |
Scribner, New York City. 2004. 'Advance Uncorrected Proofs – Not For Sale' |
Scribner 2004, USA, 137 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-7432-3041-8 |
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Harper Perennial 2005, UK, 116 pages, paperback, 'Dylan is the greatest living poet' Van Morrison printed on the cover. ISBN 0-00-721504-5 |
Harper Perennial, UK, 2016 -this date is not mentioned in the book that still refers to 2005 as date of publication, though "Winner Of The Nobel Prize In Literature 2016" is printed on the front cover. 116 pages, softcover. ISBN: 978-0-00-721504-1. |
'Custom Aftermarket Slipcase' created by a craftsman in 2021 to house this very collectible book |