Holland Hapt no. 10 (1970)

Steef Davidson et al. (Eds.) - Holland Hapt #10. Content: Liberation day; Life is energy is free; Back cover: Anti-copyright stamp.

Condition: Wear; Creases; Frayed edges. Overall condition: Good.
Magazine 1st Edition 1st Printing. Publisher: Holland Hapt, Amsterdam. Year: 1970.
Size: 34.0 x 21.5 cm. Pages: 10. Language: Dutch. Seller inventory: #26368.

Background information

Hapt – Hapt started in England by a small collective connected to the English Diggers. In the “Directory of Communes” (1970), they described themselves as a “decentralized, mobile printing collective”. It covered a wide range of topics of interest to the Sixties underground movement. The free UK Hapt magazine ran for 27 issues between December 1967 and May 1971. The magazine is mimeographed with silk-screened two-color covers and centerspreads, printed on rough paper in editions up to 400. Hapt came out every 5-6 weeks and was distributed by mail, at alternative book shops and at underground spaces. The UK edition was written and coordinated by a small team of seven led by Ken Lyons, initially based in London before moving to communes in West Howe, Bournemouth/Stroud, Gloucestershire. Hapt was a member of the Underground Press Syndicate (UPS).

There were sister communes in The Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium and Switzerland, each producing their own version of Hapt. At the Cambridge Digger Conference of 1968, the network of Hapt collectives proposed a ‘postal commune’ of publications, collectively written and produced by readers.

The Dutch version “Holland Hapt”, by Diggers and about Diggers, was essentially a compilation put together by individuals that contributed one or more pages in the number required for an edition. Between 1969 and 1971, likely 16 issues were published. The magazine, which did not have and did not have editors, was assembled from the printed contributions. Holland Hapt was free magazine for contributors and their friends. It was the first democratic magazine as everyone could participate.

Refs: Andrew Sclanders (2003) Beat Books catalogue 35 (London, UK); The Subcultures Network (2018) Ripped, torn and cut. Pop, politics and punk fanzines from 1976 (Manchester University Press, Manchester) pp. 20-23; Article on Hapt Holland by Steef Davidson.