Complete set of six SMS portfolios released in an unnumbered limited edition of 2000 in 1968 by The Letter Edged in Black Press Inc., New York, containing a total of 73 multiples by a variety of different artists of the era, including Richard Artschwager, James Byars, John Cage, Christo, William Copley, Marcel Duchamp, Hollis Frampton, John Giorno, Richard Hamilton, Ray Johnson, On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Lil Picard, Meret Oppenheim, Mel Ramos, George and Jean Reavey, Dieter Roth, Hannah Weiner, Lawrence Weiner, LaMonte Young, Claes Oldenburg, and others. In overall very good to fine condition, with some general wear, creasing, and small tears to a few items.
Conceived and edited by William Copley, this very unusual Pop art set was meant to be controversial and cutting edge, including the title which is "Shit Must Stop" aka "S.M.S." The portfolio was put out on a bimonthly mail subscription basis to circumvent the traditional gallery model of art sales to consumers. It compiles reproductions of ephemera and objects in a variety of media, including unusual materials such as a burnt bowtie by Lil Picard, pill capsules by Julian Levy, audio on a small record by Marcel Duchamp, a print by Man Ray, and a wide variety of other items. The SMS portfolios eschew traditional boundaries and were the product of a utopian artistic vision. They are an historical and artistic time capsule that aptly capture the many art movements that collided as the 1960s came to a close.
