The Internationale Situationniste and its Aftermath, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Collector's Directions For Use

This collection grew out of a fortuitous encounter with Guy Debord, the leader of the Internationale Situationniste. One day in late 2001, as I recall it, I stumbled upon a small volume with a most intriguing title: La Société du Spectacle (the Society of the Spectacle). The front cover, which featured a yellowed map of the world, also piqued my curiosity. What could this book possibly be about? Hoping for some clarification, I turned to the back cover (what the French call quatrième de couverture). Its content could be translated as follows: “Throughout his life, and in the way in which he took his own life, Guy Debord (1931-1994) followed only one rule. He summarizes this very rule in his Foreword to the Third French Edition of the Society of the Spectacle: ‘It is necessary to read this book with the idea in mind that it was intentionally written to harm spectacular society. There was never anything outrageous, however, about what it had to say.’ ”

Influenced by Ludwig Feuerbach, Guy Debord posits that, “in modern societies... everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation.” In a sense, the opening sentence of the Society of the Spectacle (Paris: Buchet-Chastel, 1967)sums up the French theorist’s view of the world. According to Debord, alienation does not lie in workers’ lack of agency (as Marx believed) but – and this is a gross simplification – in the fact that, in modern societies, social interactions are mediated by images.

Having read much of Debord’s works, I then turned to the writings of Internationale Situationniste members. In the meantime, I also developed an appetite for scholarship on Guy Debord, and the Internationale Situationniste, as well as for Situationist-inspired movements of the late 1960s onwards. My collection grew from this appreciation of the Internationale Situationniste and its ideas.

Debord insisted that his written works be made available to all free of charge. By sharing my own collection of Situationist and Situationist-influenced  material, both via my blog (www.situationnisteblog.wordpress.com) and here on Public Collectors, I hope to play a (very) small part in fulfilling Debord’s legacy and that of the Internationale Situationniste.

Ultimately, my collection will be transferred to an institution of higher learning or research center for consultation by interested individuals and scholars. Meanwhile, it may be consulted at my home in Philadelphia, PA, by appointment. I am also willing to provide information and/or Xerox specific material upon request – however, please note that it may take me a few weeks to complete a difficult query.

Mehdi El Hajoui

You may contact me via email at: elhajoui [at] gmail [dot] com

My sincere appreciation goes to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and the Jay Kislak Foundation, whose generous funding through the Student Book Collecting Competition allowed me to grow my collection. In particular, I would like to thank David McKnight, from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania, for his support.
The Internationale Situationniste and its Aftermath Collection
  • The prequel: the Internationale Lettriste (1952-1957) (~20 items)
  • Ion: Centre de Creation (issue 1; full run)
  • Les Levres Nues (issues related to the Lettristes – 7, 8 and 9; incomplete run)
  • Potlatch (issues 20-28; incomplete run)
  • The Internationale Situationniste (1957-1972) (~300 items)
    • Works by the Internationale Situationniste (~100 items)
  • Internationale Situationniste  (issues 1-12; full run)
  • Situationist International: Review of the American Section (issue 1; full run)
  • Situationistisk Revolution (issues 1-3; full run)
  • Internazionale Situazionista (issue 1; full run)
  • De la Misere en Milieu Etudiant ( ~50 editions in 15 languages) – the most comprehensive archive of this publication that we know of. The first edition is signed by Mustapha Khayati
  • Conseil pour le Maintien des Occupations (leaflets and posters issued by this group)
  • As well as numerous other original leaflets, pamphlets, posters, etc. by the SI
    • Works by individual members of the Internationale Situationniste (~200 items)
  • Michele Bernstein (two novels in first edition, first printing)
  • Robert Chasse (select original publications and one mimeographed letter)
  • Guy Debord (significant archive, including 40+ editions of the “Society of the Spectacle” in ~15 languages; the first edition of “Memoires” (with the sandpaper cover) and a first edition of “Memoires” with a unique razorblade cover designed by Michel Guet)
  • Jacqueline De Jong (Situationist Times, issues 1-6 ; full run ; all issues signed by De Jong)
  • Mustapha Khayati (select original publications, including 5 distinct editions of “Adresse aux Revolutionnaires d'Algerie et de Tous les Pays” )
  • Asger Jorn (select original publications, including “Pour la Forme”)
  • Ralph Rumney (select original publications, including “The Leaning Tower of Venice”)
  • Patrick Straram (select original publications, including “Cahier Pour un Paysage a Inventer”)
  • Raoul Vaneigem (significant archive, including 7 distinct editions of “Banalites de Base”, 10 distinct editions of “Traite de Savoir-Vivre” and 2 erotic novels written pseudonymously
  • Rene Vienet (DVDs of films, film synopsis and film posters)
  • As well as original publications by Constant(Nieuwenhuys), Frey/Garnault/Holl, Chris Gray, Jon Horelick, Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio, Charles Radcliffe, Rene Riesel, Gianfranco Sanguinetti, and others
  • Pro/Post-Situationist groups and publications (1960s-Present) (~500 items)
    • American pro/post-Situationist (~200 items)
  • Against Sleep & Nightmare (issues 1-8; full run)
  • Bureau of Public Secrets (i.e., Ken Knabb)(significant archive)
  • For Ourselves (select original publications)
  • More to Come (select original publications)
  • Negation (select original publications)
  • No Middle Ground (issues 1-4; full run)
  • Not Bored! (i.e., Bill Brown)(select issues )
  • Point-Blank! (select original publications)
  • Processed World (issues 1-32, 2.001 and 2.005; full run)
  • Smile by Shiz-Flux(issues 1-6; full run)
  • As well as original publications by Isaac Cronin, Robert Cooperstein, Fredy Perlman, Chris Shutes, and others
    • British pro/post-Situationist (~130 items)
  • B.M. Blob (i.e., David & Stuart Wise) (several original publications)
  • B.M. Chronos (i.e., Michel Prigent) (significant archive)
  • B.M. Combustion / Spontaneous Combustion (i.e., Nick Brandt) (several original publications)
  • Caribbean Situationist (select original publications)
  • Stewart Home (select original publications)
  • Infopool (i.e., Jakob Jakobsen) (incomplete run)
  • London Psychogeographical Association Newsletter (issues 1-17 and 19)
  • Manchester Area Psychogeographic (select issues)
  • Pleasure Tendency (select original publications)
  • Spectacular Times (issues 1-14; full run)
  • The Spectacle (select original publications)
  • Vague (select issues with Situationist content)
  • As well as original publications by Matt Fuller, Wayne Spencer, Fabian Tompsett, and others
    • French pro/post-Situationist (~150  items)
  • L’Achevement (issues 1-8; full run)
  • L’Affranchi (issues 1-11; full run)
  • Associes Autonomes (i.e., Jaime Juan Garcia) (significant archive)
  • La Banquise (issues 3 &4 only; incomplete run)
  • De Bello Civili (issues 1-3; full run)
  • Bibliotheque des Emeutes (issues 1-8; full run)
  • L’Echaudee (issues 1-4; full run to date)
  • Michel Guet (select original publications)
  • Yves Le Manach (select original publications)
  • Les Societaires du Spectacle (all issues 1990-1998; incomplete run)
  • Jean-Pierre Voyer (significant archive)
  • As well as original publications by Alice Beckher-Ho, Bartholome Behouir, Guy Bodson, Jean-Pierre George, GRCA, Jean-Francois Martos, Luc Mercier, Michel Bounan, Henri Simon, Andre Trillaud, and others)
  • Publications about the Internationale Situationniste (~200 items, excluding press clippings)
  • Books and pamphlets about the Internationale Situationniste by J-M Apostolides, Christophe Bourseiller, Laurent Chollet, Boris Donne, Vincent Kaufmann, J-F Martos, etc.
  • Bibliographies of the Internationale Situationniste and its aftermath by Beni, Simon Ford, Shigenobu Gonzalvez, J-J Raspaud & J-P Voyer, etc.)
  • Various auction and bookseller catalogs (e.g., Lecointre Drouet, Jean-Yves Lacroix, etc.)
  • Various exhibition catalogs (Boston, Paris, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Basel, etc.)
  • Various dissertations and university theses
  • Various issues of magazines and press clippings (150+ articles, mostly in French press)
 
Photos of Selected Materials in this Collection
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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