Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Happy news for friends and fans!

To my immense satisfaction, it has come to my attention, dearly beloved readers, that a complete set of ‘The Collected Works of Alfred B. Mittington’ will be auctioned off by the House of Penjual Buku Penipu in Singapore on 6 December next, just in time for the Christmas Season.




It is not, of course, my intention to incite any of you to send in a hefty bid (go to www.penjualbukupenipu.com in case you wish to do so…), but you will perhaps allow me to point out, in all humility, that the writings contained in this splendid publication have been described as ‘beyond the imagination of even the most open-minded erudite in the intellectual world’ by no one less than the New York art critic H. Samuel Widdrington, and that the appearance, on the market, of a complete set is a very rare occasion indeed!

The story behind this grand edition is a complex and complicated one, which perhaps one day I will entrust to paper…- I mean: to the pixels of this blog. But for now let me merely remind you here that I nearly died in the printing process; that the publication was forbidden in no fewer than 14 countries within a fortnight of appearance; and that it was only saved from complete annihilation by the rapid charitable actions of my good Indonesian friend R.R.A. (as he is still alive, his full identity cannot yet be disclosed). It’s amazing what a virulent reaction innocent artistic illustrations as the one below could bring forth in the priggish, nerdish and puritan authorities back in the days before soixante-huit and the sexual revolution!




2 comments:

  1. With such notoriety (what with it being banned in several countries) I feel l have no option but to go ahead and place a compelling bid Mr. Mittington. Y'know, in case it becomes one of those rare priceless pieces of work that will be worth a few Squajillion bob one day :)

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  2. Dear Ms Azra: if enough of my readers follow your example, I am sure the value of the edition will soar. As I have 5 complete editions (sealed in vacuum plastic) in the hidden cellar below my house, the thought did strike me at some point of offering folks money to make bids and pick up the rare copy that comes to the market. This is, I believe how Jimmy got rich in the end. The trouble is that I have a hard time getting credit or a mortgage at my bank these days. They say it's because of my age, but I know it's due to the crisis and the free profits the EU grants them…

    Yours, respectfully, A.B. Mittington

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