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Confessions of a French Stenographer

Various pictures of the Jim Camp artists book Confessions of a French Stenographer

I hate talking about my work. I’d rather let the photos or the ink or the weird little bits of paper do the talking. But if I don’t say something, this book just sits quietly in a drawer in my studio…and that feels worse. So here we go.

I made Confessions of a French Stenographer (A Tracing of a Frazetta Painting) in 2015. It’s a one-of-a-kind artist’s book built from scissors, PVA, my Vandercook 291 OS, and a box of flea market gold. The title comes from a 1920’s dirty little smutty smut-smut book I found on one of my “Sunday Funday” flea market adventures. Probably Long Beach. Or maybe when Fairfax High’s was still decent? Everything else—the collaged pin-ups, found snapshots, bureaucratic ephemera, naughty nudie slides and typewritten drama—is all my work.

I had run across Joseph Cornell’s Manual of Marvels a few years prior. I was amazed. Cornell turned an ordinary book into a masterpiece. His boxes are great, but his Manual of Marvels? It inspired me to create, and isn’t that what great art does? Instead of Cornell’s Victorian whimsy, I opted for something… I dunno. I’d like to say mine’s a little sleazy. Maybe kinda funny. Definitely strange.

It’s a hand-assembled, letterpress-printed one-off that’s been sitting quietly in a drawer in my studio since its completion.

Until now.

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synaesthesia picks: The Five Buys (April 2025 Edition)

various pictures of the Boris Mikhailov Viscidity published by PPP Editions

They say April showers bring May flowers, but around here they bring collectible oddities, forgotten treasures, and just enough paper dust to keep the allergies guessing. 🌸📚 This month’s lineup spans card tricks with a punchline, Vargas girls in bloom, a long-lost Tim O’Brien title, and a photobook so strange and wonderful it might just stare back.

I’m not flexing. (Okay, I’m flexing.) But when the finds are this special, it feels rude not to show them off. So here ya go—this month’s Top 5 Buys, handpicked by me for you and from the strange and wonderful tide of paper that rolled through my shop in April.

1. Milton Kort – Off-Color Card Tricks (Magic Inc., 1950s)
Proof that magicians can be raunchy too. Kort’s slim booklet isn’t just a sleight-of-hand manual—it’s a time capsule of mid-century American humor, wrapped in card flourishes and innuendo. A little warped, a little worn, and entirely charming. Picked up by a magician with a good sense of timing and humor.


2. The Vintage Vargas Girls Lot 1946 Vargas Girls Lot
Twelve stunning pin-up leaves from the 1946 Esquire calendar—sun-bleached just enough to feel authentic, but still saturated with Alberto Vargas’ signature glow. Each page is a mini-masterpiece of postwar idealism, cheesecake style. A batch like this doesn’t last long.


3. Tim O’Brien – Friends and Enemies (Synaesthesia Press, 2001)
Long thought sold out, I unearthed two copies of this forgotten gem (Okay, I’m flexing) on my move back to Arizona from LA — a collaboration between myself, Mr. Tim O’Brien and Native American artist Fritz Scholder. Signed by O’Brien & Scholder, beautifully printed (Yup, I’m flexing some more), and housed dós-a-dós. This one was gone within a month (flexFLEX)… but sometimes the archive gives back. At the original, 2001 publication price no less!!


4. The Probe #4 (1994)
Zines like this don’t just walk in every day. Actually, this one didn’t, either. I grabbed it off the rack at the great Eastside Records when it was published in 1994. I’ve held on to it ever since. Anyways, Issue #4 of The Probe delivered interviews with Aja and Christy Canyon, some scrappy punk content, Evan Dorkin weirdness, and a Ken Miller feature—all wrapped in neon comic-book aesthetics.


5. Boris Mikhailov – Viscidity (PPP Editions, 2022)
I first became aware of Mikailov in 2012 at the reminder bookstore over by the Pompidou in Paris when I picked up a copy of his Case History off the 10€ table. Hands down of the the most unsettling, disturbing photo books I’ve ever come across. I’ve been paying attention to Mikhailov ever since. This Soviet-era self-document is equal parts absurd, grim, and genius. Mikhailov’s autobiographical experiment blends bureaucratic tone with visual chaos in a gorgeous oversized book housed in a cardboard clamshell. Still available—for now—and easily one of the best photobooks I’ve handled this year.


Want more like this? Follow the blog, or better yet, scroll up to the top right of this page and join my newsletter so you’re the first to see what I dig up next month.

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Happy Record Store Day 2025!

This is a picture of the Yo La Tengo record Old Joy

Look, I’m not going to wax poetic about how great Record Store Day used to be. I’m not even going to go on about how perversely overpriced records have become—though both are true. But here goes anyway.

Record Store Day used to be great. It really was. And I suppose, for a lot of people, it still is.

When I asked the clerk how long the line was to get into my local store — Grace Records — he said, “Mall security had to send people home last night—mall rules don’t allow overnight sleepers. They let the line form at 5 a.m.”

I rolled in around 1 in the afternoon, my expectations really low—but somehow, I managed to find a copy of The 13th Floor Elevators – Houston Music Theater, Live 1967 (4,000 copies), Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak: Alternate Version (6,000 copies), and even two copies of Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music (2,500 copies) were still left!

Lou Reed’s fifth solo album is quite possibly the most unlistenable record ever made. Lester Bangs once called it “the greatest record ever made in the history of the human eardrum”—but he was kidding. (I think.) I’m not kidding when I say Metal Machine Music is like an Andy Warhol film: far better discussed than experienced. (Except maybe his Screen Tests.)

I stood there holding all three for ten solid minutes, flipping through what was left of RSD 2025 one more time. And all I could think of was $104.98 before tax….$104.98 before tax….$104.98 before tax. Then, I let out an audible sigh and made my decision.

Three new records: One. Hundred. And. Ten. Mother. Fucking. Clams.

Man, Record Store Day used to be great. It really was.

(I almost forget to mention the 9th record to my 10’s-the-max collection just arrived at my po box a few days ago from the always-fabulous Mississippi Records! The soundtrack to Old Joy, a film by Kelly Reichardt, music by Yo La Tengo.)

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The Books I Did Not Buy at the NY Antiquarian Book Fair.

a photo of Semina 7, one of my fantasy wants

Every year I walk into the Armory in New York City for the Antiquarian Book Fair, I enter with the same fantasy you’ve probably had: unlimited funds to buy anything.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair has become a ritual. I go to see books so rare that—once bought—they disappear. Gone from circulation, often forever. Until, maybe, an estate donates them to a library, or they quietly resurface on the market. Likely to wind up right back at the Armory.

In past years, my imaginary checkbook has picked up a true first edition of Ulysses published by Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare & Co., a signed Catcher in the Rye, and The Genius of the Crowd—that exceedingly scarce Bukowski chapbook printed by da levy, most of which were confiscated by Cleveland police on obscenity charges. One copy I handled a few years ago even came with its original mailing envelope—possibly the only one still in existence with the envelope.

This year, two items had me biting my lip: a beautiful copy of Wallace Berman’s 7th issue of Semina and a fantastic letter written by Charles Bukowski. Berman’s hand-assembled artists’ book won.

Most issues of Semina are nearly impossible to find. All of them are rare. Semina inspired Volta. And the 7th issue was Berman’s most personal—entirely his own work, no outside contributors. And how about that photo of Tosh!?

As for Buk’s letter? Scroll down and tell me it’s not great.

Of course, neither came home with me. But that’s okay.

A small part of collecting is imagining what you’d own if money weren’t an issue. The real joy of book collecting? Knowing books don’t just hold stories—most of the time they are the story.

a photo of a bukowski letter, one of my fantasy wants

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The Art of Being a Super Fan

A picture of the world's biggest Abbath fan.

Here’s a picture I took last night of who is probably the world’s biggest Abbath fan.

Abbath is a Norwegian black metal band, fronted by a man who calls himself Abbath Doom Occulta. He once led another band called Immortal, but they had a very nasty breakup. But I’m not going to make this about that.

And what in the world was I doing at an Abbath show? Let’s not make this about that either—except to say Abbath was part of a three-act opening bill (Cro-Mags, Abbath, and Down) for Danzig. Glenn Danzig. Which is exactly what I was doing at an Abbath show, and whom I enjoy far more as frontman for The Misfits than as a solo act.

But I don’t wanna make this about that.

What I do want to make this about is how much I love Super Fans. Super Fans of any kind—whether or not I’m into the thing they’re into: Deadheads and Hulkamaniacs and Parrotheads and Trekkies and Swifties and Whovians and Beliebers and Potterheads. They’re all terrific in my book. Including members of The Fiend Club, which is the space for Misfits devotees.

And especially this member of Abbath’s Army, who is part of the Trve Kvlt, which makes her a real Corpsepaint Warrior, one of the traveling Blackpackers, proud member of The Northern Horde, and a foot soldier in The Frostbitten Legion.

Super Fans are my people.

Even when they’re not.

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She Asked AM or FM? I Picked Wrong.

A picture of the gatefold from ZZ Top's record "Tres Hombres"

“HEY! Do you listen to AM or FM?” That’s what she asked me. Just like that, too.

It was the fall of 1974. I was in 5th grade, living in Calumet City. She was a little older, way cooler, and so pretty I couldn’t believe she was talking to me. (Cliché, I know.) I don’t remember her name. But I remember the moment: I was walking home from school, already nervous as she approached. I looked away—then, like a miracle, she spoke. To me! And she asked that question like it mattered.

Because it did then.

You might not know this, but in 1974 AM radio meant “Seasons in the Sun,” “Band on the Run,” “One Tin Soldier,” and “The Night Chicago Died.” I knew them all. I didn’t know FM radio — at all. Didn’t know it was even a thing. So I immediately—and excitedly—blurted out my reply: AM! Because WLS’s Larry Lujack was playing all my hits. And I needed to impress her.

The rest of my after-school, 5th-grade life consisted of dirt clod fights, building elaborate forts, collecting beer cans, and avoiding — at any and all costs– The Burnham Boys. And “La Grange.” I can remember hearing Billy then as clearly as I remember that girl—that unmistakable guitar riff followed by his talky-growly-laughy, make-no-sense HAVE MERCY A-HAW HAW HAW HAW that confounded and fascinated me. An oddly amazing song. A song that etched itself into my brain. I loved it then. Still do.

Two other things I need to tell you: in 1974 “La Grange” made it onto both AM and FM heavy rotation; and, in 2009, I watched, in amazement, as The Eels covered it long after what everyone thought was the final song of their show. Meaning The Eels played their set, then their encore…and then, of course, most of the crowd had left. Cause the show’s over, right? I would have usually been gone by then, too; but I was slowly nursing a final beer and talking to a pal and getting ready to walk out when the band suddenly reappeared—as house lights remained on—and they launched into “La Grange.” Maybe the six or eight of us remaining got to watch that. Pretty amazing, huh?

Anyway—it was a no-brainer when I ran across a clean, used copy of Tres Hombres at Ghost of Eastside in Tempe. It’s now the 8th record in my 10’s-the-limit collection.

And The Girl Whose Name Is Lost Forever? She laughed when I answered her question, turned, and walked away.

Because of course she did.

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🎪 The Other Circus Essay (Or, What John Steinbeck Was Doing in a Circus Program from 1954)

various pictures of the Ringling Bros. Circus Magazine featuring “Circus” by John Steinbeck

You don’t expect to find John Steinbeck under the Big Top. But there he is—in the 1954 edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine & Program—writing a short essay simply titled “Circus”.

It’s tucked between clown bios and ad copy, printed on glossy paper for a quarter. Not in The New Yorker. Not in Harper’s. But in a souvenir program handed out to families watching elephants march in circles. And the thing is—it’s good. Way better than Hemingway’s take from the year before. Steinbeck’s essay didn’t read like he simply accepted an assignment — which is exactly what Hemingway’s felt like. Steinbeck doesn’t glorify the spectacle, either; he honors the labor, the grit, the fading shine behind the scenes. It’s about memory and movement. It feels like something that could’ve shown up in one of his novels.

So why does it matter? Because this forgotten periodical reminds us that literary value isn’t always shelved where we expect it. Sometimes it hides in ephemera. Sometimes the archive is a folding table in the sun at your favorite flea market.

That’s part of the work—being a seller, sure, but also a finder. A rescuer. A re-contextualizer of things left behind — if you can call that “work.”

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20 Years in LA, 48 Hours in Flagstaff

This is a picture of downtown Flagstaff, AZ

I’m in Flagstaff, Arizona—a place I once considered calling home. During the confusion of that chapter of life I’ll call My Twenties, Flagstaff was on the short list of maybes. The other? Los Angeles. (Don’t count out San Francisco…but that’s another blog. Probably a whole lot more.)

The difference? I did LA. I stayed twenty years. It became A Full Chapter.

Flagstaff? I’m here for 48 hours, and that’s enough to remember why: it’s a charming mountain town. Friendly people. A quaint downtown, complete with turn-of-the-century brick buildings and hand-painted adverts now all but unreadable. Pine trees. Snow. That slow pace that feels good—for a minute.

But then I remember: I hate winter. I hate snow. Life on a slow pace is overrated. I hate scraping windshields and layering up. (I did that once—growing up in Chicago.) And let’s be honest: no flea markets. No book fairs. No weird, wonderful pop-up art galleries. And where are all the great tacos?

LA gave me stories. Some really great ones. It also gave me great friends, some chaos, and a few enemies; it gave me endless sun and a community of creators, collectors, and beautiful misfits. It gave me access to pretty much everything I ever needed.

Flagstaff’s great for a weekend. But I needed a place that never slows down—even when I need to.

LA almost broke me — and if it had, it would have been in the right way.

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Filed Under: X – Cheesecake, Censorship, and the Curious Afterlife of Erotica

Two Bettie Page publications Presenting Bettie Page at home and Outdoors

There’s a thin line between scandal and style. In the 1950s, Bettie Page—smiling in gingham, posing in sunlit bikinis—was dangerous enough to put photographers on the stand. These two booklets — Presenting Bettie Page and Bettie Page Outdoors — were labeled obscene in their day. Today, they’re “cheesecake.” Retro. Kitsch. Highly collectible—and, for some, arguably “empowering.” The language shifts, but the image remains.

Irving Klaw, the photographer behind many of Bettie’s iconic images, was subpoenaed during the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, chaired by Senator Kefauver in May of 1955. The hearings investigated the potential link between pornography and juvenile crime. Page narrowly avoided being called to testify. When she walked out of that courtroom, it shook her enough to walk away from Klaw—and modeling—forever. And right into her own personal darkness.

Now these slim, staple-bound booklets are traded as pop relics—nostalgic, collectible, almost sweet. What once risked prosecution now earns preservation. You can flip through Klaw’s work at a flea market without flinching—except, maybe, at the price. Bettie always knew how to work a curve. Turns out value is one of them.

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Bootlegs, Maui, and the Summer of 1989: Revisiting Paul’s Boutique and Its Demos.

a picture of the 21 bridges release of paul's boutique demos

Paul’s Boutique dropped in July of ’89. I was 25, spending that summer living in a campground on a beach in Olowalu. The previous July, I was competing for a spot on the US Olympic Team. I put the shot. Which is to say I was a shot putter. And the difference between July 1988 and July 1989 was profound: in 1988, I was a focused, goal-driven athlete taking on the world; a year later I was confused, depressed, and questioning my existence. I just didn’t know it then.

My mom was a science teacher, and for her July of 1989 meant attending a summer-long Science Teacher Seminar on Maui. My little brother was 10 and busy being an adolescent. And I just tagged along. My brother and I had nothing but time, the ocean, and a pair of cassettes that would soundtrack those months: Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising. Literally, it’s all we listened to.

Now, decades later, the 7th record in my 10-album-is-the-max collection is Paul’s Boutique Demos, an “unofficial release” on 21 Bridges Records. (Unofficial release AKA “bootleg”, which is something I don’t hear the hip, vinyl-collectin’ Millennial-and-GenX Hipsters talk about too much when they’re talkin’ “vinyls”.) Tony and I played Paul’s Boutique and 3 Feet High and Rising over and over. We couldn’t get enough of either. Which is what appealed to me about this record. I’ve lived inside Paul’s Boutique for so long, I wanted to hear the songs in their infancy, stripped down and raw and maybe very different from what made it to the final release. A new way of hearing something so familiar, like watching a film in black and white instead of color. And speaking of color, how about the bright pink vinyl the fine folks over at 21 Bridges chose to press these?