Manchester, England: Wanted Man, 1981–1997. Octavos (21 × 14 cm). Original pictorial wrappers; pagination varies from just 10 to ca. 200 pp. per issue. Illustrated throughout, primarily from photographs. Light wear to edges and spines; overall very good.

A complete run of the fan-oriented Bob Dylan magazine, published and primarily written by British journalist and Dylan expert John Bauldie, the self-proclaimed “best Bob Dylan magazine in the world.” Published from November 1981 through Winter 1997, each issue features letters, news articles, interviews, lists of bootlegs for collectors, photographs, and additional information related to Dylan.

Prior to his passing, John Bauldie said that around the time Bob Dylan embraced Christianity and turned 40, the music press began to ignore him and fans found it harder to keep up with his shows and records. Around the same time, Bauldie met a fan named Ian Woodward who was writing a newsletter called “The Wicked Messenger” and Bauldie wanted to distribute it, bundled with the idea of a fanzine, “the purpose of which would be to help disseminate news and answer readers' queries.” They advertised subscriptions in NME and Melody Maker, and every few weeks, Bauldie and his Dylan friends would get together, go through the mail, and go off to conduct research in response to the questions they received.

In this fashion, the group put out an initial seven issues, more like brief newsletters, got a little publicity, and reached a few hundred readers. The first issue was only five folded pages stapled together. The next few issues feature some internal debate about whether to continue publication, whether what they were doing was worthwhile or even shameful. Ultimately the publication team of The Telegraph emerged on the other side and transformed more into the magazine it continued to be for the duration of its publication, with "interviews, articles, historical perspectives, everything that the discerning Dylan fan might need. And some stuff that the dDf couldn't possibly live without." (John Bauldie, “A concise history of… The Telegraph”, https://www.expectingrain.com/dok/div/telegraph/info.html).

By the time The Telegraph ceased publication, shortly after Bauldie's death in 1996, the issues were close to 200 pages in length, full of information and rare photographs. Circulation of the magazine was at about 3,500, with approximately half of those subscriptions belonging to English readers. According to Bauldie, Bob Dylan himself was a regular reader, with him and his family having four subscriptions but none under his own name.

Scarce. As of May 2026, OCLC locates only seven institutions in North America with holdings, only 2 of which appear to be complete.

Book ID: 51666

Price: $4,000.00