[ANGEL HAIR BOOKS] ROSENTHAL, Bob

Cleaning Up New York

New York: Angel Hair Books, 1976. First Edition. One of 724 regular copies, from a total edition of 750. Large octavo. Pictorial glossy card wrappers (softcover); photo frontispiece, [48pp]. A nice copy, slightly toned and creased on wrapper extremities, the rear cover slightly discolored, internally clean and unmarked: Very Good. Cover illustration by Rochelle Kraut; author portrait by Maryann Gerarduzzi.

A beloved down-and-out in NYC memoir, recounting the author's brief stint working as a housecleaner in Manhattan (Rosenthal would later become Allen Ginsberg's personal secretary and, following Ginsberg's death, his literary executor). An underground classic, praised by many, including Richard Hell: "It’s one of those great, rare works the style of which – immaculate, with unexpected descriptor glints, and funny, low-key frankness – perfectly embodies its subject, namely the revelation of soft shine in humble corners of New York. it’s a miracle and you don’t have to be clean to appreciate it.” Recently brought back into print by The New York Review of Books, but the original edition, published in only 750 copies, has long been both sought-after and elusive.

Price: $75.00

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