Just Kids

New York: HarperCollins, 2010 First edition, first printing. Signed by Smith on title page. Publisher's purple cloth, with Smith and Mapplethorpe's initials in blind to front board, spine lettered in silver foil, and black endpapers; in its original purple pictorial dust jacket designed by Allison Saltzman, with a 1969 photo of Smith and Mapplethorpe to front panel, lettered in gray. Touch of wear to head of spine, else fine book; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with a few faint creases to head of spine and top edge of jacket, and light toning to top and bottom edges of front and rear flaps. Overall, an excellent signed copy of Smith's universally acclaimed memoir. Just Kids documents the relationship between singer-songwriter Patti Smith and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who together played a major role in shaping the underground art and punk rock movements in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to being Smith's roommate and lover, Mapplethorpe photographed her and those iconic images later became the covers to her music albums. The memoir chronicles their childhoods, first encounters in New York, romantic relationship, tenure at the Chelsea Hotel, and their artistic endeavors that stemmed from their mutual inspiration. According to Janet Maslin's New York Times review, the title Just Kids refers to a moment in Washington Square Park in 1967 when a couple saw Smith and Mapplethorpe. While the woman thought that they "looked like artists," her husband brushed the comment off, saying that they were "just kids.". Signed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Dust Jacket Included.