Small handbill designed by Victor Moscoso announcing The Invisible Circus.
[SF]: Privately published, [1967].
Item #SKB-15439
First edition. Richard Brautigan phoned Moscoso on behalf of the Diggers and asked him to contribute a flyer for the Invisible Circus. "Any job for the Diggers was a donation, and Moscoso, currently working in color, scaled back his palette. He selected a black-and-white picture from an art book on surrealism and painted the lettering above it in a single evening. To Charles Perry, the image on Moscoso's small handbill looked like 'a human being with a rubber eraser as a face'" (William Hjortsberg). Scheduled to take place at the Glide Memorial Church the Invisible Circus was billed as "a 72-hour environmental community Happening" presented by the Diggers who wanted it to be the best party the Haight had seen. The Communication Company's gestetner machines were lugged to the church, and Richard Brautigan dubbed one room The John Dillinger Computer Complex where he and Chester Anderson started cranking out a stream of spontaneous handbills featuring "news flashes," snippets of stoned conversation overheard at the event, and readings from the I Ching. The evening featured music by The Orkustra, readings by Michael McClure and Lenore Kandel, and various types of Happening-style events spread throughout the many rooms of the church. Originally intended to last three days, the event was cancelled by the church after eight hours due to naked, tripping hippies running amok including copulating on the altar. Perhaps the best of the many accounts of the Invisible Circus is in Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan. Very fine (7" x 5").
Price: $200.00