Small archive including signed items: The Rent Paper (1979-80), Party Paper (1981-83) & ephemera
San Diego: Harold Gee, 1979. Small archive of material by the chronicler of the San Diego punk underground scene; a craftsman, cartoon & comix artist, impresario, jeweler, photographer, journalist, auteur and pioneering chronicler of his own squalid but magical world, prefiguring the self-obsessiveness of the Me-Generation proto-bloggers by a good decade. In recent years he has slowly put online a selection from his thousands of snapshots of the San Diego 1980s scene among beatniks, artists and punks. In no particular order we have: THE RENT PAPER, issues 1-4 (July 1979 - January 1980), each limited to a hundred copies, signed. 8.5 x 11 inches, photocopied sheets, good or better with uneven tanning and toning and occasional yellow stains (these yellow stains are a persistent conditional factor in several of the items in this collection: the owner, David Coulson, lived for a time in the same kind of squalor that Harold Gee describes as his own general state, and that can lead to stains, especially when cats are involved). The third and fourth issues are printed on both sides; the first two are printed on rectos only. Harold Gee was in his early 30s during the timeframe of this archive, and part of the San Diego punk scene. Gee promoted shows and took a lot of photographs, some of which he has put online, detailing punk and street life in San Diego in the 1980s. In a 1981 profile of Gee, the origin of "Rent Paper" was discussed: “Toward the end of 1978, exhausted of time, money, and energy, I began giving up on the possibility of earning money through any ‘artistic’ vision. During this time I began getting involved in the still-germinating punk/new wave scene.” He gave up his store, for which he was paying $275 per month to work in, sell out of, and inhabit, and moved into a hundred-dollar house. He ate on food stamps, rode a bicycle for transportation, continued with odd jobs, and then decided to try concert promoting. “The thing that impressed me most about the experience was the power of print on paper. Once the flyers are printed and posted, people are gonna be there. They don’t know you’re broke and those posters were printed with a borrowed $50.” The first concert turned a minor profit and he was able to pay off the debt. The second concert went bust. “After losing $60 on the second show, days went by when I had absolutely no money (maybe 15 cents), food was scarce and the most appropriate thing to do was lie in bed and conserve energy. Daydreaming, I began to wonder . . . How had I paid the rent in, say, July through November, '78? Or the month before last? I couldn't remember. So, the Rent Paper was conceived. The idea being that if 100 people pay a dollar each to find out how I paid the rent, that would pay the rent.” PARTY PAPER, issues nos. 4, 6 (2 copies), 7 (November, 1981, October 1982, April 1983). Newsprint tabloid form, good very good with inevitable tanning, light wear and occasional light stains, duplicate issue of no. 6. No. 4 is 8 pp, no. 6 is 10 pp, no. 7 is 12 pp. Written by Gee and some of his associates and friends, these detail the arts and subcultures of San Diego in the 1980s. HAROLD TRAVELS! MAY, JUNE, JULY, 1982. Pamphlet, 13 pp, illustrated, no. 94/225 signed, also hand addressed by Gee. Fair copy with some light waviness and yellow stains, evidence of some dampstaining too. Addressed to David Coulson, a prolific artist, cartoonist, sign painter and underground comics artist. ODDS AND ENDS: 1) 14 X 10.5 inch flyer from 1979 for The Zeros, Uxa, Non Snails, some stains adn wear, notes in pen and pencil to verso. 2) 1983 Seasons Greetings letter from Gee, hand addressed to Coulson and his wife in NYC, folds out with manipulated photo and photocopies, with pencil note from Gee: "Thanks for the card. I made this one for my parents to send out. Some o' the xerox's didn't come out so good (like this one) but the others I spray painted to borders red. Everything's fine, sleeping in the darkroom...got a [crossed out: moped Honda Passport] 70cc 3 spd. automatic motorcycle coupla weeks ago, it's nice getting around (out of downtown S. D.) Visited my parents for Xmas. My mother gave me a haircut. I mostly just slept on the couch, ate, and watched TVCR. It was just fine. Harold." 3) 1987 handmade manipulated xerox postcard sent to David Coulson in Hawaii, with note from Gee: "Always behind schedule...so what's new! And what about the book? Well, since I was gonna do a bulk mailing I figured I might as well wait til January since the permit has to be renewed every January anyway...no matter when you buy it. So I've been making lots of jewelry - NICE STUFF -- really. Even sold a couple hundred dollars worth. So we'll be seeing you 1st week of June huh...GREAT! PLease remind us as the date approaches. [phone number] Your Friend, Harold." 4) Postcard from 1990, with printed invitation to Gee's Zoom Six Gallery in New Orleans. Good. Item #H33977
Price: $650.00