Rare Signed Vonnegut A-item

Merlin [Very Short Story]

Vonnegut, Kurt

Notes: One of the rarest Kurt Vonnegut publications, a "story"—more of an anecdote, really—about his alter-ego Kilgore Trout which appeared on bottles of Denver Public Libation, an ale brewed by the Wynkoop Brewing Company to support the Denver Public Library. Details are scarce, more than 25 years after the event, but it appears likely that Vonnegut's story (not dated on the label) came out in 1996, for the second series of bottles (Wynkoop issued the first series in 1995, to mark the reopening of the library). Adding to the confusion is Vonnegut's inclusion of the date of Kilgore Trout's death in 2001, which was still five years in the future at the time these were printed.

According to press stories, Denver Public Libation was issued in cases of 12 and each bottle had a different writer's story on the label.

This is a complete pair of Vonnegut's Merlin label, with the story beginning on the front label and finishing on the back label.

About 3-3/4 by 5 inches each. Printed on one side only. See "Read Any Beer Lately" in the Calgary (Alberta, Canada) Herald, November 2, 1996, p. D3, for a short piece on Vonnegut's participation.

Edition + Condition: A fine pair, signed on the front side of the back label by Vonnegut. Provenance: Acquired from a Texas collector who obtained many Vonnegut ephemera from Joe Petro III, the printer for Vonnegut's art prints.

Publication: Denver: Wynkoop Brewing Company, [1996].

Item No: #361871

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