William S. Burroughs Underwood Typewriter No. 5.

BURROUGHS, William .

Item Number: 104010

Rare 1930s Underwood Standard Typewriter possessed and used by William S. Burroughs. Recovered from Burroughs’ 210 Centre Street New York apartment by close personal friend and painter David Prentice in 1966 during Burroughs’ unexpected six-year stay in London which began with his visit in 1960 Dr. Dent, a well-known English medical doctor who spearheaded a reputedly painless heroin withdrawal treatment using the drug apomorphine. The typewriter is mounted on a cast iron frame with the ribbon broken and keys operative. In very good condition. Rare and desirable.

Burroughs was not a strong typist despite his prolific writing and often relied on the assistance of fellow writers to type, edit, and arrange his episodic writings into cohesive singular volumes. One of his best-known works, Naked Lunch, was arranged by Allen Ginsberg, typed by Jack Kerouac, and edited by both. Burroughs credited Kerouac in his introduction of the first edition for coming up with the title: "The title means exactly what the words say: naked lunch, a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork."