AN EXTENSIVE ARCHIVE RELATING TO ARTHUR AND KIT KNIGHT'S THE BEAT VISION AND KEROUAC AND THE BEATS, INCLUDING CORRESPONDENCE, ORIGINAL TYPESCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND MATERIAL FROM NUMEROUS LEADING FIGURES OF THE BEAT GENERATION.

Arthur and Kit Knight were important chroniclers of the Beat movement, assembling interviews, reminiscences, photographs, and other primary-source material for The Beat Vision (1987) and Kerouac and the Beats: A Primary Sourcebook (1988). The present archive documents the preparation and publication of these works and preserves correspondence and contributions from figures within and around the Beat circle, including Jan Kerouac, Carolyn Cassady, John Clellon Holmes, Michael McClure, Anne Waldman, Gerald Nicosia, and others. Together with original typescripts and a substantial photographic archive, the material provides a record of the later reception and documentation of the movement whose principal literary landmarks included Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Allen Ginsberg's Howl, and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch.

Provenance: Alan L. Weiner (1942-1995), founder of the Academy Bookstore (Christie's New York, 22 May 1996, sale 7873, lot 49).
The archive includes:

1) A large group of letters exchanged between Arthur and Kit Knight and various figures associated with the Beat movement, including John Clellon Holmes, Jan Kerouac, Anne Waldman, and Jules Feiffer, principally concerning the preparation of Kerouac and the Beats, ca. 1987.

2) A group of checks issued by Arthur and Kit Knight to contributors and endorsed by the recipients, including Jan Kerouac, Carolyn Cassady, John Clellon Holmes, Michael McClure, Jules Feiffer, and Gerald Nicosia, principally representing payment for interviews and contributions to Kerouac and the Beats, ca. 1987.

3) A large archive of correspondence and related material concerning the publication of The Beat Vision and Kerouac and the Beats, exchanged between Arthur and Kit Knight and Paragon House Publishers.

4) Original typescript of Kerouac and the Beats with holograph annotations and corrections and xerox copy of typescript for The Beat Vision.

5) A large group of original photographs depicting William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, and others, many reproduced in The Beat Vision and Kerouac and the Beats.

6) The Jack Kerouac Collection. Rhino Records, 1990. 3 CDs.

7) Knight, Arthur and Kit, editors. The Beat Vision. New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1987. 8vo. Original cloth; dust jacket. [With:] Another copy, in original printed wrappers.

8) Knight, Arthur and Kit, editors. Kerouac and the Beats: A Primary Sourcebook. New York: Paragon House, 1988. 8vo. Original cloth; dust jacket. [With:] Another copy, in original printed wrappers.