Hundred Flowers - ca. 28 issues.
These political, satirical, polemical newspapers cover every issue of concern in the searching '70s: war and peace (especially, of course, the Vietnamese war); protests, rallies, meetings, confabs, etc.; rights of veterans, women, gays, lesbians, Native Americans, Blacks and other minorities; election fraud; environment and global warming (yes, indeedy); love; illegal imprisonment; wiretapping; pot and other drugs; the consumer movement, co-op development, the free university movement, etc. If you were of thinking age in the '70s, something here will ring a bell! There is a lot of coverage of Minnesota and Midwest action, naturally. There also is extensive coverage of the music scene.
The editor is not identified; a number of staff members are listed with no position titles (seems to have been an egalitarian operation). The first year the papers have a subtitle, variously "North Country" or "A North Country Weekly." In the second year, the masthead states, "Hundred Flowers is a member of the Liberation News Service, Underground Press Syndicate, Free Ranger Intertribal News Service, Wisconsin Independent [sic] News Service, and Bird on a Wire Conspiracy (added later were United Shitworkers of American and WIND). Also, at some point the newspaper changes from weekly to fortnightly.
There are 28 issues here (not collated for completeness of every issue) plus two sections from some issues, undated but dateable from the news within. The papers' covers are printed in two or three colors (except the two 1972 issues, which have no color, have no posters (see below), and for which the price was reduced from 25¢ to 15¢) and feature interesting graphics which appear to be original to the paper. The papers are chock full of great drawings, photos, cartoons, other illustrations, and interesting advertising. Almost all the issues include a two-page color poster.
Most of the artists and cartoonists are unidentified, although Thomas Utne did a couple of them. Some of the poster topics are: a spoof of the Declaration of Independence; "Free Bobby;" Timothy Leary; Native American warrior on horse; quotation from Thoreau; a Nixon/Hitler morph; "Stop" the polluting manufacture and use of automobiles; "Smoke Pot Where You Work, They Do," about soldiers in Viet Nam; a Quaker Oats man quoting the "Hundred Flowers" motto; Floyd B. Olson; the Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines with a quote from a Native American; "And God Created Woman in Her Own Image," by Ann Grifalconi; "Kemo Sabay means.." These newspapers are in very good condition, although some are browning and beginning to be brittle; there are a few tears and rumples; one issue has three or three spots of spilled something or other.
Issues in this lot are:
Volume 1 (1970), Nos. 5 and 6, May 15 and 22; Nos. 7 and 8, June 5 and 12; No. 19, Aug. 7, No. 20, Sept. 18; Nos. 22, 24, 25, 26, Oct. 2, 16, 23, and 30; No. 29, Nov. 19; No. 30, Dec. 3.
Volume 2 (1971), No. 1, Jan. 1; Nos. 4 and 5, Feb. 13 and 27; No. 6, Mar. 27;": No. 7, Apr. 17, No. 14, June 2; Nos. 15 and 28, July 9 and 30; Nos. 19, 20, and 21, Aug. 6, Aug. 12, and Aug. 20; Nos. 24 and 24, Sept. 10 and 25; No. 27, Oct. 1.
Volume 3 (1972), Nos. 1 and 2, Jan. 7 and 13.
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