In 1964, famed writer Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters set off across America on a “Transcontinental Bus Tour,” headed for the New York World’s Fair, drinking (still perfectly legal) LSD-laced orange juice along the way . Kesey’s journey, in the company of his Merry Pranksters, lies at the heart of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , an as-if-first-hand account of the group’s antics and ethos by Tom Wolfe, wunderkind of the New Journalism movement. Celebrated as a classic of American literature as well as the hippie movement, the text explores both the esoteric experience of hallucinogens and fundamental societal shifts of 1960s America. In this Collector’s Edition , signed by Tom Wolfe, an abridged Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is published in traditional letterpress , with facsimile reproductions of Wolfe’s manuscript pages, as well as Ken Kesey’s jailhouse journals, handbills, and underground magazines of the period . Interweaving the prose and ephemera are photographic essays from Lawrence Schiller , whose coverage of the acid scene for Life magazine helped inspire Wolfe to write his story, and Ted Streshinsky , who accompanied Wolfe while reporting for the New York Herald Tribune . These photographs—together with those of poet Allen Ginsberg and other photographers who covered the scene—paint a vivid picture of the counterculture world that set Wolfe’s scene : acid parties near “capsule corner” in Hollywood, the hippie-filled streets of Haight-Ashbury, the abandoned pie factory the Pranksters called home, and the infamous Acid Tests , Kool-Aid and all . Marking the year of original publication, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is limited to 1,968 signed copies, including: Collector’s Edition of 1,768 numbered copies (No. 201–1,968), each numbered and signed by Tom Wolfe, featuring: Silk-screened hardcover with an embossed paper case Letterpress printed text on a natural uncoated paper Facsimile reproductions of Tom Wolfe’s manuscript pages and other period ephemera Two Art Editions of 100 copies each (No. 1–200), both signed by Tom Wolfe and with a photographic print signed by Lawrence Schiller.