Helix Vol. V No. 4 November 7, 1968 Richard Nixon Cover; Trim Bissell Article; Robert Crumb Ad
Seattle: Helix, 1968. Robert Crumb Walt Crowley. First Printing. Tabloid Newspaper. Tabloid printed on newsprint measuring 11.5 x 16 inches. Pp. 22. Front and rear covers printed in color. Slight age-toning to edges, else a bright, well preserved copy. Very Good+. Item #6427 In late spring 1967, Helix joined a burgeoning underground press then including groundbreaking alternative papers the East Village Other, the Los Angeles Free Press, the Fifth Estate and the Berkeley Barb. Founded by Paul Sawyer, Paul Dorpat and Lorenzo Milam, it sprang from their intellectual fervor at the Free University, an alternative thinktank they also founded. Eventually star-illustrator Walt Crowley assumed editorship. A pebble in the shoe of Seattle establishment, the "hip rag" brought attention to civic injustice by rallying its youthful readership to activism. The apogee of that effort followed the 1970 killing of students at Kent State: over the course of May 5-8, Helix organized protests that blocked US Interstate 5 while marching between the University District and rallies at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Seattle. Early issues are increasingly scarce. This issue is housed in a removable, clear sleeve with an acid-free backing.
A solid, early issue of the Seattle underground bi-weekly (that transitioned to a weekly in September 1969) with an article by Trim Bissell (here, "Trimm"), the scion of the vacuum cleaner family whose 1970 attempt to bomb the ROTC Building on the University of Washington campus led to a 17-year life as a fugitive. Curiously, Robert Crumb artwork in an ad promoting Helix subscriptions uses a vacuum cleaner as its central image.
Price: $50.00