Synaesthesia Press

Synaesthesia Press Jim Camp at the synaesthesia press. Independent publisher & rare book dealer since 1994. Buying, selling & making books that matter. I’m Jim Camp. Some longer.

Limited editions, letterpress, photobooks, beatniks, outlaws & beautiful printed things. Check back soon for new arrivals! I own and operate the synaesthesia press. I’m a letterpress printer; I publish work by authors I find interesting; I make pictures with a variety of cameras; I make collages and artists’ books; and, finally, I’m a bookseller specializing in collectible first editions, leftist

/ co**ie / p***o titles, paperback sleaze, erotica, and other books you probably wouldn’t want to read with your parents. I co-founded the synaesthesia press with a writer named Steve Fisher in 1991. Steve wrote terrific short fiction and poems. Steve actually named the press. We were on the phone at 3am or so (Steve’s normal hours to call his friends). Steve suggested me we should start a small publication house. “We should call it the synaesthesia press. We can publish some of my stuff.” I immediately agreed. After we hung up, I ran to the dictionary to look up “synaesthesia“. As a letterpress printer and a publisher, the synaesthesia press makes whatever it is I like and have time to manage. As a photographer, I challenge myself to make interesting pictures. As a bookseller, I generally specialize in good used books generally of a subversive nature. In other words, anything by or about Beatniks, Commies, Pinkos, and Outsiders; I love good literary fiction and almost anything by or about Bukowski; I love little mags, ‘zines, photobooks and art books. I like art books and Artists’ Books; any s**t or sleaze or erotica or cheesecake published before, say, 1970…sans pe*******on shots! I’ve always felt most artists are subversive by nature and love all things s**tty. Kinda rando, I know. I’ve been collecting for 35 years (give or take), and most of what I’m going to start offering here I’ve held for at least a couple of decades. A few since I began collecting. It’s time these titles found a new home. The proceeds from my book sales here fund the synaesthesia press publications.

A. di Michele | The Mollifier | synaesthesia pressThe Mollifier Text by A. di Michele. No. 6 in the synaesthesia press c...
06/20/2026

A. di Michele | The Mollifier | synaesthesia press

The Mollifier Text by A. di Michele. No. 6 in the synaesthesia press chapbook series. Published November 1996 in San Francisco, California. Chapbook. 5 1/2" × 8 1/2" (13.9 × 21.6 cm). Printed wrappers. Published by the synaesthesia press. Edition of 150 copies, of which the first 50 were signed by the author. Issued as part of the synaesthesia press chapbook series. Produced during the San Francisco period of the press, prior to its relocation to Los Angeles.

A. di Michele's The Mollifier, No. 6 in the synaesthesia press chapbook series. Limited edition of 150 copies published in San Francisco.

Mad, Bad, and Dying | Jack Micheline, Alan Catlin & Errol MillerMad, Bad, and Dying. Text by Alan Catlin, Errol Miller a...
06/19/2026

Mad, Bad, and Dying | Jack Micheline, Alan Catlin & Errol Miller

Mad, Bad, and Dying. Text by Alan Catlin, Errol Miller and Jack Micheline. No. 7 in the synaesthesia press chapbook series. Published February 1997. Chapbook. 5 1/2" × 8 1/2" (13.9 × 21.6 cm). Cover illustration by Jack Micheline. Contents include Alan Catlin's short story "Finnegan's Wake," Errol Miller's short story "The Pool Hall Affair," and Jack Micheline's prose poem "Gus The Blindman."...

1997 synaesthesia press chapbook with work by Jack Micheline, Alan Catlin, and Errol Miller. Edition of 176 copies with signed issues.

The Strangest One of All | Barry Gifford & Billy Childish | the synaesthesia pressThe Strangest One of All Barry Gifford...
06/19/2026

The Strangest One of All | Barry Gifford & Billy Childish | the synaesthesia press

The Strangest One of All Barry Gifford. No. 8 in the synaesthesia press chapbook series. Published in 1998. The piece originally appeared in Speak Magazine, Fall of 1997. Designed by Johnny Brewton. Illustrated with original woodcuts by Billy Childish. Published by the synaesthesia press. Edition of 150 numbered copies, of which the first 50 were signed by Barry Gifford....

Barry Gifford chapbook illustrated by Billy Childish and designed by Johnny Brewton. Limited edition published by the synaesthesia press.

Johnny Marries Giselle (1998) | Neeli Cherkovski Broadside | the synaesthesia pressJohnny Marries Giselle (1998) Poem by...
06/19/2026

Johnny Marries Giselle (1998) | Neeli Cherkovski Broadside | the synaesthesia press

Johnny Marries Giselle (1998) Poem by Neeli Cherkovski. Letterpress broadside published by Jim Camp. Issued in conjunction with the wedding of Johnny Brewton and Giselle Brewton of X-Ray Press, San Francisco, California, 2 May 1998. Approximately 4¼" × 9¼". Edition unknown, though believed to have been approximately 100 copies. The broadside reproduces Cherkovski's poem "Johnny Marries Giselle," written for the occasion by the poet....

Neeli Cherkovski broadside printed by Jim Camp for the May 2, 1998 wedding of Johnny and Giselle Brewton of X-Ray Press.

Volta No. 3: B***y Pin-ups! | the synaesthesia pressVolta No. 3: B***y Pin-ups! (2016) Artist's book by Jim Camp. Issued...
06/19/2026

Volta No. 3: B***y Pin-ups! | the synaesthesia press

Volta No. 3: B***y Pin-ups! (2016) Artist's book by Jim Camp. Issued by the synaesthesia press, Los Angeles, 2016. 3½" × 6¼". Edition of 250 numbered copies. Twenty-six lettered copies were issued with an original collage. One copy was bound in boards and contains the original collages used in the production of the book. The work consists of a sequence of original collage compositions created from vintage cheesecake and pin-up imagery mounted onto pages removed from a found…...

Volta 3 featuring collage work from vintage pin-up imagery. Published by the synaesthesia press in 2016 in an edition of 276 copies.

Volta 1 | the synaesthesia pressVolta. Winter 2003. Edited and letterpress printed by Jim Camp. Issued in an edition of ...
06/18/2026

Volta 1 | the synaesthesia press

Volta. Winter 2003. Edited and letterpress printed by Jim Camp. Issued in an edition of 50 copies. Eight separate printed pieces housed in a found envelope measuring approximately 6¼" × 7". Contents include: Charles Bukowski, "Untitled" (1963). Richard Brautigan, "Hey, Bacon!" Alan Catlin, untitled poem Tsaurah Litzky, "September Senryu" Henry Denander, "the italian piano player" Jim Pritchard, "It's All About Fu***ng"...

Volta Winter 2003. Letterpress-printed portfolio edited by Jim Camp featuring Bukowski, Brautigan, Billy Childish and more.

Richard Brautigan Four Poems (2000) | Letterpress Chapbook | the synaesthesia pressFour Poems Richard Brautigan Publishe...
06/18/2026

Richard Brautigan Four Poems (2000) | Letterpress Chapbook | the synaesthesia press

Four Poems Richard Brautigan Published February 2000 by the synaesthesia press. Hand-sewn letterpress chapbook measuring approximately 4 7/8" × 6 1/4" (12.4 × 15.9 cm). Edition limited to 26 lettered copies printed for the friends of the press. A small number of copies were additionally designated as Printer's Proofs. This edition collects four poems by Richard Brautigan: "November 3," "December 24," "December 30," and "At The California Institute of Technology." All four poems originally appeared in Brautigan's 1967 collection…...

Richard Brautigan's Four Poems. Hand-set in Souvenir type and letterpress printed by Jim Camp in 2000. Edition of 26 lettered copies.

Robert Kelly The Time of Voice Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1998Offering: Kelly, Robert. The Time of Voice: Poems ...
06/17/2026

Robert Kelly The Time of Voice Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1998

Offering: Kelly, Robert. The Time of Voice: Poems 1994–1996. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1998. Signed Limited Edition. Near fine in printed paper-covered boards and glassine jacket as issued. Approximately 6 1/4" x 9 1/4" (15.9 x 23.5 cm). One of 100 numbered hardcover copies signed by Robert Kelly, this being copy #69. Clean, bright, and well-preserved throughout. A handsome copy. US Domestic Shipping on me; anywhere in the world at my cost....

Signed limited edition of Robert Kelly's The Time of Voice: Poems 1994–1996. A hardcover copy signed by the author. Black Sparrow Press, 1998.

Fielding Dawson Will She Understand Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1988Offering: Dawson, Fielding. Will She Understa...
06/17/2026

Fielding Dawson Will She Understand Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1988

Offering: Dawson, Fielding. Will She Understand? New Short Stories. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, 1988. Signed Limited Edition. Near fine in printed paper-covered boards and glassine DJ as issued. Approximately 6 1/4" x 9 1/4" (15.9 x 23.5 cm). One of 150 numbered hardcover copies signed by Fielding Dawson, this being copy #13. Additionally laid in is an original, very scarce Black Sparrow Press promotional flyer advertising Dawson's earlier collection Krazy Kat / The Unveiling and Other Stories from 1951–1968. Clean, bright, and highly presentable throughout. US Domestic Shipping on me; anywhere in the world at my cost....

Signed limited edition of Fielding Dawson's Will She Understand? Signed by the author. Includes original Black Sparrow Press Krazy Kat promotional ephemera.

Aram Saroyan Day & Night Bolinas Poems Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1998Offering: Saroyan, Aram.Day & Night: Bolin...
06/17/2026

Aram Saroyan Day & Night Bolinas Poems Signed Limited Black Sparrow Press 1998

Offering: Saroyan, Aram.Day & Night: Bolinas Poems. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1998. Signed Limited Edition. Near fine in printed paper-covered boards and glassine DJ as issued. Approximately 6 1/4" x 9 1/4" (15.9 x 23.5 cm). One of 100 numbered hardcover copies signed by Aram Saroyan, this being copy #83. Clean throughout with only the slightest trace of handling. A handsome, highly presentable copy. US Domestic Shipping on me; anywhere in the world at my cost....

Signed limited edition of Aram Saroyan's Day & Night: Bolinas Poems. Number 83 of 100 hardcover copies signed by the author. Black Sparrow Press, 1998.

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