An unpublished bifolium of original manuscript of 'Sundry Notes and Papers; being recently discovered Notes and Documents of the Natural & Instinctive Bestiality Research Expedition. Collected and collated under the title Bumbooziana ...'
Friend's erotic masterpiece was published in Melbourne in 1979 by Richard Griffin's Gryphon Press - a full-colour facsimile of the richly illustrated holograph manuscript (elephant folio, [iv], 126 pages). The edition was limited to only 150 copies numbered and signed by Donald Friend; it was oversubscribed on publication. This large-format bifolium (each page is 380 × 510 mm) contains the complete text and illustrations for pages 3, 4, 9 and 10, and although it is basically similar to the published version, it differs in every detail. Not least of the differences is the number, treatment and quality of the drawings. The published version contains six watercolour drawings, one in full colour, the rest merely black and white. The manuscript on offer contains seven drawings, with one only in black and white; there are two with a monochrome wash, and four drawn in varying monochrome. One of these covers well over half the page, considerably larger than the published version. A less immediately obvious but more telling difference is the handwritten text. On these two leaves, it is identical to that on the leaves numbered before and after them in the published version, whereas it is completely different on the substitutes. One possible explanation is that this is the original version, that it went missing prior to publication, and that it had to be completely recreated. These variations in handwriting occur elsewhere in the published text; perhaps the final draft was made up from two (or more) manuscripts prepared some time apart. However, although 'The Diaries of Donald Friend', Volume 4 (2006), covering the period 1966 to 1988, refers to 'Bumbooziana' many times, there is no mention of errant leaves, no hint of variant drafts. The various (and unsuccessful) attempts to sell the manuscript as published are described in detail in the diaries. On 15 October 1982, Friend records he was offered $25,000 for it; 'It was a shock. I want $45,000 and regard it cheap at that'. On 20 May 1983, he records that the several manuscripts, including that of 'Bumbooziana', 'would all go to the library [the National Library of Australia] on loan and be gifted one manuscript per annum, valued for tax deduction purposes by the library'. Friend is more Friend-less these days, but we are only offering a sheet of paper for sale.
Item #94428
Price (AUD):
$5,000.00