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At Terror Street And Agony Way (1 Viewer)

M

MULLINAX

Came home. A box on my desk. Postmarked Los Angeles. AT TERROR STREET AND AGONY WAY. Smoking a big cigar now. Contemplating the box. Wondering about the contents. The anticipation.
 
Thank you.

The packing list states: "...Krumhansl 27b (first edition, first printing, first issue, second state of binding, with white label pasted over typographic error on front cover of book. From the library and with the small neat signature on first preliminary leaf of noted LA poet and editor... Marcus (Jack) Grapes...A nice association copy." It's a softcover, red.

Who the fuck is Jack Grapes? Should I love him or hate him? Was he at either the wedding or the funeral?

I think this is my first 60s Black Sparrow item. Time for another cigar! And wouldn't it be around 2:35 am in California? I admire your stamina.
 
I'll wait for Bill to weigh in on the Jack Grapes question.

I don't know about stamina. I think it's called being old and not wanting to sleep.

Congratulations M. I no longer smoke, but flick a bit of ash for me and know I'm mucho happy for you.

- -
Okay,
Father Luke
 
Marcus Grapes and B corresponded a bit in the 60's. I think Weddle talks about this in his book. 20-30 years later, Jack Grapes -the same guy- published a lot of Bukowski stuff in his Onthebus journal.
 
Ok then. Maybe I like him. What's the Weddle book?

And Luka: I am also 48 years old. And lucky in that I can still smoke and drink.
 
I read with Jack Grapes a few times in L.A. in the 70s. A fine poet. I would consider his prior ownership of the book a plus. Now please, nobody tell me anything bad about him.
 
He (Grapes) also came up with the idea that Bukowski should keep a journal, which he published over several years in ONTHEBUS (and which later became The Captain is Out to Lunch). So if you like that book you have Grapes to thank.
 
Rekrab said:
I read with Jack Grapes a few times in L.A. in the 70s. A fine poet. I would consider his prior ownership of the book a plus. Now please, nobody tell me anything bad about him.
Click to expand...

I don't know Jack Grapes and cannot say anything about him either way. I certainly know of him. An association copy of this book wold add a slight premium given the relationship between the two (writer/publisher).

Cool find!

Bill
 
If I recall correctly what I heard/read/saw 30 years ago, as a young poet Jack Grapes idolized Bukowski, befriended him (or at least hung out with him) and his first few books were modelled after the Loujon Press Buk collections, both in content and graphic design. I had them at one time and they were nice books, sort of a poor man's version of a Loujon edition. Last I looked, you can still pick them up on ABE fairly cheaply. I remember Jack being a good guy. Glad you did not have any bombshells in this instance, Bill.
 
My copy of AT TERROR STREET AND AGONY WAY looks unlike any other Black Sparrow book that I have.

The first few pages seem to have the impression of a letter on them, written sideways, along with some Buk bird drawings, as if someone typed onto these pages but forgot to insert a ribbon onto the typewriter carriage. What I can see are impressions or indentations on the paper with visible (inked) script above. Are these pages leftovers that were used by mistake? Or was it some sort of deliberate artistic or publishing statement that I can't even begin to comprehend? The letters are small and hard to read and since I'm smoking and drinking now I don't dare attempt to decipher them until it's safer.
 
It's called blind stamping and it's one of the tricks at a printers disposal.
If i were you I would take a fairly soft pencil and lightly draw all over the page, thus darkening the page and highlighting printed words.



Of course, I'm just shitting in your sock drawer. :D




Don't use a pencil.... use a pen.
 
MULLINAX said:
The first few pages seem to have the impression of a letter on them...Are these pages leftovers that were used by mistake? Or was it some sort of deliberate artistic or publishing statement that I can't even begin to comprehend?
Click to expand...
More about that here.
 
dude you're lucky.
next you'll come home and find a copy of it catches sitting on your desk.
wouldnt that be nice?

hey mullinax can you post any pics?
 
Too Friggin' Lazy

Too much trouble. I drink and smoke at my computer, so the book is always kept in another room, along with all of my "quality" Bukowski items.

I can barley use the scanner anyway!
 
Here's a pic of something you don't see every day to help pass the time:


TerrorSreet75.jpg


Courtesy of a bukowski.net member.
 
Are those spots on the cover somebody's you-know-what? They must have been really, um, excited when they got that book.

:D
 
Nooooooo (I use tissues) ;)
Those are tiny amounts of paper missing from the surface of the stock.
I'm assuming some sort of insect did it while the book was in storage.

It's safe now.
 
it is 4am East Coast time and I'm sitting at my desk at work. About to drive 45 miles to a jobsite. I need to be there by 5am. ugh....

Bill
 
ROC said:
Those are tiny amounts of paper missing from the surface of the stock. I'm assuming some sort of insect did it while the book was in storage.

It's safe now.
Click to expand...
Ah, the veil is off the owner now! ;) I couldn't remember if you wanted me to mention where I got the scan.

MULLINAX said:
If I peel off the sticker on my copy is that what I'll see?
Click to expand...
If you peel off the overlay what you'll see is a big red spot where the type used to be. Or a big hole in the cover. It's not a sticker, actually, it's a glued on piece of thick paper.

ROC's copy (above) is one of only 18 copies that were sold before the "SREET" mistake was caught.
 
mjp, ROC: Nice! I've never seen the "SREET" version. I'd take it, even with the insect damage. I have a rare Timothy Leary chapbook with similar damage. This sort of surface grazing is better than when the bug eats a hole all the way through the paper. Have another rare book where that happened. Why is it you never seen this sort of damage on a crappy book? Bugs always pick the best books.
 
very very nice.
this is the closest I'll get, so don't mind me if I linger for a moment or two.
 
Do you really think it was caused by bugs? It looks more like another book was on top of it and stuck to it a little bit.
 
NO! IT'S BUGS I TELLS YA!

sorry.

I'm fairly certain it's bug damage as I've seen this sort of thing before on the inside pages of other books and have asked people who should know.

Of course that's no guarantee...
 
mjp said:
Do you really think it was caused by bugs? It looks more like another book was on top of it and stuck to it a little bit.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the bookcase we have with a flower pot on top. My wife waters the flowers and the water drips down and hits a stack of books below it. Vintage paperbacks. Nothing really valuable, but stuff I like. By the time I discover this mishap, the books are dried out and stuck together. I peel them apart with some damage but I do it carefully and it's not too bad. Now I keep all the books under the flowerpot in plastic bags, which, of course, have never gotten wet. The trick is to keep up -- sometimes, unannounced, she moves the flower pot. And people say I'm paranoid. The danger is real.
 

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