Allen Ginsberg fans can get a littler closer to the late poet, thanks in part to discount retailer Dollarama.
The University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has acquired the world’s largest collection of photographic prints by Ginsberg. According to Canadian Art, Dollarama CEO Larry Rossy purchased the prints from the Allen Ginsberg Trust through his Larry and Cookie Rossy Foundation and donated them to the university. As part of the donation, the University of Toronto Art Centre also received 236 photos with “diaristic captions.”
Ginsberg was a prolific photographer during the 1950s Beat heyday and again in the 1980s. The collection of 7,686 photos, which includes small-format portraits of Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, is available to the public for viewing during library hours. A selection has also been posted to Flickr.