Another Fun Inscription IV - IT CATCHES MY HEART IN ITS HANDS (1 Viewer)

This is the presentation copy of IT CATCHES MY HEART IN ITS HANDS. The cover stamp uses an unusual red ink I've not seen in other copies.

catches 1.jpg catches 2.jpg
 
I think I have seen the red inked cover variation on at least one other copy. I might have an image of it around here somewhere (don't hold your breath). Bill may have made a post a while back about those cover variations. There were a few.

The Webb books had so many variations that it seems impossible to keep track of all of them. I suppose when you put the books together by hand over several months, a piece here a piece there, that can happen.

If only you could sit down and read them without tweezers and a surgical mask. ;) (Yeah, I still - and will always - think they were overdone and poetry doesn't belong inside of art books or book art or whatever you want to call it. At least you can read most of the poems in other, normal books.)
 
(Yeah, I still - and will always - think they were overdone and poetry doesn't belong inside of art books or book art or whatever you want to call it. At least you can read most of the poems in other, normal books.)

there's a similar debate going on about this comics anthology that just came out, where half the audience is all pissed that the comics are trapped in a big, elegantly designed, expensive book, while the other half (which includes me) are excited about the elegantly designed, expensive book and all the comics inside. i suppose it *is* good that the poems in the loujon books are available elsewhere, since that right there accommodates our difference of opinion. i don't own either of them, but i do want to pick up crucifix at some point- i just haven't found a copy in good enough condition (which i suppose is the problem). when i get it, i will probably read a couple poems at a time and then put it back on the shelf, rather than devouring a chunk of 80 pages all at once, like his other books. reading the poems in that format is rewarding in a different way, though.

now i just need a copy of not quite bernadette.
 
I think I have seen the red inked cover variation on at least one other copy. I might have an image of it around here somewhere (don't hold your breath). Bill may have made a post a while back about those cover variations. There were a few.

The Webb books had so many variations that it seems impossible to keep track of all of them. I suppose when you put the books together by hand over several months, a piece here a piece there, that can happen.

If only you could sit down and read them without tweezers and a surgical mask. ;) (Yeah, I still - and will always - think they were overdone and poetry doesn't belong inside of art books or book art or whatever you want to call it. At least you can read most of the poems in other, normal books.)

mjp is right, but I suspect that the Webbs did what I would do: They probably printed a couple hundred, cleaned the press and printed a couple hundred on another color. Maybe it was to have fun or in hopes of selling multiple copies to hardcore collectors (this is my theory, not backed up by any inside knowledge, or evidence.)

There is different color of the skeletons and also different color of paper below the corkskin, so I would guess that there is probably 8 different variants.

It is hard to tell what their motives were. Compare this to the Kerouac poem in Outsider 2, where they changed the word "chinese" poetry to "Ciprian" poetry and other variants. This was thought to mess with Kerouac who insisted, in writing, that the poem be printed EXACTLY as it was written, but Jon changed the word to make many variants and was careful to send the correct one to Kerouac for his files. He only found out about it when it was being anthologized and he saw the draft where the word was wrong.

The Webbs were artists and had their own motives. I can appreciate their playfulness.

Bill
 
everything chance press does will be totally uniform and uninteresting, so there will never be any mystery ever. i suspect bottle of smoke is run with the same military precision.
 
everything chance press does will be totally uniform and uninteresting, so there will never be any mystery ever. i suspect bottle of smoke is run with the same military precision.

Okay, now that I can get behind. No variation ever!

It's downright evil the way Jon messed with Kerouac's poem, but funny.

I agree with Bill on his theory that some of the Webb's variations were intentional, to sell multiple copies to collectors. Why not?

On the tweezers issue, I read both Loujon collections when they were far less valuable and so I guess I didn't worry too much about handling them. Then again, I read any book carefully, even beat up worthless paperbacks.
 
...i do want to pick up crucifix at some point... when i get it, i will probably read a couple poems at a time and then put it back on the shelf, rather than devouring a chunk of 80 pages all at once, like his other books. reading the poems in that format is rewarding in a different way, though.
It wasn't until I put my hands on some degenerate copies of It Catches and At Terror Street that I kind of adopted the attitude toward the Webb books. I can leave the library bound It Catches out on the table, other people can flip through it, lay it upside down on the couch to mark a page, etc. etc., and it doesn't matter. If they did that with my copy of Crucifix I would be worrying about it every second, watching how they turn the pages..."Did he just lick his finger?!"

Actually, getting those two beat up books changed my attitude toward almost all my books. Seeing Neeli read from his well worn and battered copy of Crucifix at the Huntington also made me wonder about book perfection, and why it is important (and reassured me that Crucifix is well made and won't fall apart in the face of a bit of real world use). Having a perfect copy of a book is not as important to me as it once was, but the perfect books I have I still try to keep perfect. So I guess there is a compromise. ;)
 
Then again, I read any book carefully, even beat up worthless paperbacks.

For me, the most gut wrenching scene in CB Spit on my Face was not when he spit on you, but when he grabbed your book and manhandled it open to sign it. I can just imagine how frustrating that would be to me!
 
Well, it certainly got my attention. Kind of like being slapped by the Zen master (or is it getting you knuckles rapped with a stick? I'm not up on my Zen lore.)

I wonder how well that scribbled on, signed, inscribed copy would do on eBay. Funny that, in all these years, I've never heard mention of it. It must be locked away in some private collection. I'd love to see scans of the cover and inscribed page. If one of you lurkers have that book, please post pictures!
 
everything chance press does will be totally uniform and uninteresting, so there will never be any mystery ever. i suspect bottle of smoke is run with the same military precision.

Jordan; I hope you can hold to that. But it reminds me of the statements many people including myself have made like: "I'm never going to get married", "I will never smoke pot", or "I'm never gonna' drink again".
You seem like a strong enough person to hold your ground, but just in case we will understand.;)

The mystery is fun.
 
... (Yeah, I still - and will always - think they were overdone and poetry doesn't belong inside of art books or book art or whatever you want to call it. At least you can read most of the poems in other, normal books.)

I guess esart has a strong oppinion on that, wanna bet?

Well okay:
having a cheap copy to read them, carry along, mark them, is a fine thing. Most of my Buk's are even only softcovers for that purpose.

Only: there ARE collectors and for THEM, a piece of art adds to the value.
I'll never understand, how 'Crucifix' can be as cheap as, say 'Women' (limited to 300, signed, numbered). Sure, the limitation is much stronger - but 'Crucifix' is so much more beautiful and well done and made with love and important for Buk's carrer, oh, and it is signed too, from what I hear...
 
Anytime I buy a collectable book"”Bukowski or anyone else"”I need to buy a second reading copy. How retarded is that? To buy a book you cannot read? It's like buying a beautiful porterhouse steak that you're not allowed to put on a grill. It's my cross to bear.
 
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...It's my cross to bear.

no cross to bear.
If you don't like it that way: just don't buy collectibles.

When I started reading Buk at age 16, I HAD to stick to the cheapest softcovers, when I started reading him in English (before Amazon), I HAD to go to the library and xeroxcopy them. There was not more money.

When a new Buk comes out, I still buy the cheapest version to READ it. And only sometimes, I decide, I want a nice collectible too. only sometimes.
I'm living good this way. And cheap. And have no compunction to mark passages with a pencil and write annotations in my books.

Buing a collectible is not buying the TEXT of a book, it's buying a piece of ART - you wouldn't carry a 'Van Gogh' with you to the cafe-house to look at it, wouldya? You'd let it hang on your wall (if at all) - and to the cafe-hoese, you'd carry a book of prints with 'Van-Goghs'. And you wouldn't think about arguing about that or lamenting.
 
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justine sees me wrestle with this to no end. i don't mind owning 2 copies of a book if the different editions both offer something unique (the codex seraphinianus and exercises in style are two such books)... still, i won't allow myself to own reading copies. that means that if i want to read what matters most in a cafe, my only option is to take that publisher's copy, put it in a padded envelope, and hope that i don't spill food on it. that's a bad example, since i probably would just take another book instead, but still... all my books get read, because i can't justify owning a book that's just to look at. however, i can certainly understand that viewpoint. it's a line i won't let myself cross, because i feel like there's a certain level of madness that i can keep myself from accessing, so i'm going to hold out for as long as i can.
 
Thank you for posting these PM.

My favo(u)rites are "No man truly believes that he will ever die" and "The only time to surrender is when you're dead."
 

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