Arcana:

(COMMUNICATION COMPANY, THE) (DIGGERS, THE). Harland, Cisco (aka Jeffrey Weinberg). Sudbury, MA: Water Row Books, Inc., 1992. First Edition. 4to. Illustrated Wrappers. Graphic Design Monograph. Very Good.. 100pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. "The social upheaval of the sixties gave rise to many fascinating coalitions and communes, but the Diggers, a little-known and short-lived group, stand apart from them all. Formed in Haight-Ashbury in 1966 by members of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Diggers took their name from the English Diggers - a seventeenth century agrarian collective devoted to creating a utopian society free of ownership and commerce. The San Francisco Diggers under the leadership of Peter Berg, Emmett Grogan, Peter Coyote, and Billy Murcott were true anarchists, with roots in the Theater of the Absurd, Existentialism, and strategies of direct action. They coined slogans designed to prod people into participating and staged art happenings, public interventions, and street theater infused with wicked humor. The Diggers also provided free food, clothing, medical care and lodging to anyone in need as part of their effort to create a unified and mutually supportive community. A critically important part of their methodology were the hundreds of broadsides printed by Chester Anderson and Claude Hayward's Communication Company (or Com/Co) that they regularly produced and distributed throughout the Haight". Published by Water Row Books in 1992, "The Hippie Papers" is subtitled "(A) List of Original Communication Company Flyers, Broadsides, and Handbills for Sale". It is a fascinating document that catalogues, prices, and reproduces one hundred handouts culled from the collection of mid-sixties Haight resident and Com/Co. distributor Cisco Harland - aka Water Row proprietor Jeffrey Weinberg. A handsome example of this exceedingly uncommon reference - only fifteen copies are currently cited in OCLC WorldCat - showing some light wear and sunning along with a few creases through the spine. 0-934953-34-1 Inventory Number: 025490