TROCCHI, Alexander
 
Cain's Book; published by John Calder, London, 1963. 
 
Description 
 
Signed by Trocchi for "Allan Russell... Sheffield April 1964..."
Publisher's original red cloth, original dust jacket, unclipped. The 1963 imprint of this work is the one to own. This was a small run of books distributed under John Calder to only the well established book shops, in light of threat of its censorship. The effort to uphold a certain reputation failed. And in February of 1964 several shops in Sheffield, England were raided and all copies of Cain's book confiscated. The much publicised "Obscenity Trial" began in April 1964, in Sheffield. Trocchi's inscription likely is a direct reference to this, by way of its date and place. The verdict ruled the text too offensive in the lifestyle it advocated, to remain in shops. The case is notable in that the court's judgement was the first in the UK to condemn a book for obscenity not in its sexual content but "the lifestyle it advocated". Trocchi staged a protest against the ruling at the Edinburgh Writers Festival in September of 1964. Copies of the book were burned together with fireworks. Cain's book especially was influential on another Scottish writer, Irvine Welsh. Welsh's own cult classic, Trainspotting, rings in the very first lines of Trocchi's brutality and fading zeal.
This copy is in near fine condition, excpeting some toning; signed to front end paper. Dust jacket is unclipped.