Lot Essay
Adrian Henri was a painter and poet, known for founding the poetry-rock group The Liverpool Scene, as well as co-writing The Mersey Sound in 1967, which would become one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time. As well as being central to the Merseybeat music scene of the 1960s and 1970s, Henri was president of the Merseyside Arts Association and Liverpool Academy of Arts, and honorary professor at the Liverpool John Moores University. Good friends included John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Allen Ginsberg, as well as jazz musician George Melly, who was the first owner of the present work.