One for the Morning Provenance...

I've really been behind the 8-ball getting other stuff done for deadline, so I put up the auction but am only getting around to hanging the notice here about it now. So here's the letter of provenance for the ONE FOR THE MORNING GLORY collection, which you can find at


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150095734588&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:11

where the auction will be closing on Thursday March 1.

Go ahead and ask all about the long stories relating to Item E. Go right ahead. Big hint -- some of them are also referred to in GAUDEAMUS ... any Pittsburghers around, can you tell me, is the Star of India still there?

And now, folks, the letter of provenance:



LETTER OF PROVENANCE regarding Materials Sold as the "One For the Morning Glory Collection"
To whom it may concern:
On March 1, 2007, I sold to [NEW OWNER] the following items which were used in the preparation of my novel, ONE FOR THE MORNING GLORY. To the best of my knowledge, this letter enumerates what each item is, its date of creation when known or an estimate when not known, its condition on March 1, 2007, and other information which may be pertinent to scholars and collectors.
If at some future time I discover further materials which would have been included in this collection if they had been found before March 1, 2007, they will be shipped to [NEW OWNER] at my expense, and with a similar letter of provenance, plus a revised version of this full letter.
PREAMBLE: This collection is sold as a unit. It is recommended that it be kept intact rather than broken up, particularly in light of [NEW OWNER]'s obligation to assist in scholarly access to these materials. (See the LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING).
DEFINITIONS: Besides ONE FOR THE MORNING GLORY, one other title occurs in this collection. The characters of Golias, Psyche, Mortis and the Twisted Man originated in a piece of performance art given by me in March of 1988 in Missoula, Montana, titled FOUR FACES AND A GRID. During that performance I drew a chalk grid on the floor of the performance space, recruited four members of the audience to sit on the compass points of that grid, and asked that they watch my performance through those masks. The masks are in surprisingly good shape. During most of 1992, while I worked on the novel at my desk at 5434 Howe Street in Pittsburgh, the four masks hung above the desk.
ABOUT MISSING MATERIAL: Much of the physical manuscripts of earlier drafts of One For the Morning Glory, including one in which I reset it into a blank-verse like structure to check cadences, were produced while I was doing consulting work in California in late July 1992. When I departed for a research trip to Mexico (the one behind MOTHER OF STORMS), I did not want to take along all those pages, or ship them back to Pittsburgh, so I threw away about one complete and two partial drafts of One for the Morning Glory at that time.

TAG Short description Dating (as much as is known) Long description and commentary
A Mask of Mortis, from FOUR FACES AND A GRID March 1988 Wood stick, styrofoam backing, hard surface drawing paper covered with mixed media (mainly oil pastel and gloss medium), yarn, and what looks like part of a plastic plate
B Mask of Psyche, from FOUR FACES AND A GRID March 1988 Wood stick, styrofoam backing, hard surface drawing paper covered with mixed media (mainly oil pastel and gloss medium), yarn.
C Mask of Golias, from FOUR FACES AND A GRID March 1988 Wood stick, styrofoam backing, hard surface drawing paper covered with mixed media (mainly oil pastel and gloss medium), yarn. Still has the wire attachment for hanging it on a wall.
D Mask of the Twisted Man, from FOUR FACES AND A GRID March 1988 Wood stick, styrofoam backing, hard surface drawing paper covered with mixed media (mainly oil pastel and gloss medium). Very different from the iron face described in the book.
E Purple steno pad, 80 pp, rough draft in handwriting of the first couple of chapters of One for the Morning Glory November 1990 Water stains on cover but the interior is fine. I got stood up for a date I had been dreading (long story there) at the Star of India restaurant on Craig Street in Pittsburgh. Actually there are several long stories associated with that evening. Anyway, I had hours to kill before going to Friday Night Improv, so I ducked down the street, bought this notepad, and began One for the Morning Glory.
F Green steno pad, 80 pages, many notes, partial scenes, outlines, ideas for One for the Morning Glory Late spring 1992 Seems to have been a general "think pad" – contains notes from several different classes, drawings, project ideas, etc.
G copyedit of One for the Morning Glory July 1995 A great copyedit; also includes a good deal of commenting and questioning back and forth to clarify my intentions
H submission copy of One for the Morning Glory October 1992 By this time we could send files electronically easily, so this is no longer a camera-ready copy for the agent to use; it's simply a paper copy of the final draft I sent to him. In excellent condition
I photocopy of first 63 pp of copyedit of One for the Morning Glory July 1995 I honestly have no recollection of making this copy or of why I did so, but it's a copy of the first part of Item G
J Corrected page proofs of One for the Morning Glory Fall 1982 Don Keller was the one who came up with the "etc." page headings; you can see our correspondence about that. Very nice page proofs, almost no problems, but some marks in my handwriting
K Pre-copyedited version of One for the Morning Glory submitted for copyedit May 1995 Has my somewhat fulminous notes to the copy editor; I was pretty paranoid about having this come out right. Those notes include a glossary of all the malapropisms. The notes are somewhat worn with some letters peeling off, apparently due to a shoddy printer; on request I can email a copy of the text if need be.
L Maps of the Kingdom and the City Probably November or December 1990 I did this about the time I first began to work on the novel. The maps are sloppy and crude and don't match the book; eventually I realized I preferred to use a map in my head that would be subject to drift and error, as more in keeping with the world of the book
M Reconciliation copy of One for the Morning Glory July or August 1995 This was the copy from which type was actually set for the finished book. In very good shape, lots of printer's marks; based off the copyedit you'll find in Item G