Yarrowstalks
Yarrowstalks was an underground newspaper (and later a magazine), primarily based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that published 12 issues from 1967 to 1975. It is notable for being the first publication to publish the comix of underground cartoonist Robert Crumb. In addition to Crumb, other notable contributors to Yarrowstalks included Timothy Leary and the editor/publisher Brian Zahn.
The cover of Yarrowstalks #3 (August 1967), cover art by Robert Crumb. | |
| Editor | Brian Zahn |
|---|---|
| Categories | Underground press |
| Frequency | Irregular |
| Format | tabloid newspaper (issues 1-7) magazine (issues 8–12) |
| Circulation | 10,000 (1967) |
| Publisher | Brian Zahn |
| Founder | David Auten and Brian Zahn |
| Founded | 1967 |
| First issue | May 5, 1967 |
| Final issue Number | May 1975 12 |
| Country | United States (1967, 1968, 1973–1975) United Kingdom (1967) Denmark (1970) |
| Based in | Philadelphia (1967, 1968, 1973–1975) London (1967) Copenhagen (1970) |
| Language | English |
Unlike many underground papers of its era, Yarrowstalks was not explicitly political. Like the San Francisco Oracle, Yarrowstalks combined poetry, spirituality, and multicultural interests with psychedelic design, reflecting and shaping the countercultural community as it developed in Philadelphia. Yarrowstalks was noted for its innovative use of color, graphic design, and cold type offset printing. The name of the publication is derived from Achillea millefolium ["yarrow"]; the stalks are dried and used as a randomizing agent in I Ching divination.