First time, Long Time (1 Viewer)

[CaseyW]

Hello there. My name is Casey. I read my first Bukowski in 1995 or so when I saw a copy of Post Office at a Barnes and Noble. The simple design of the cover caught my eye so I opened up to a page at random and was immediately hooked. Hank has been my favorite author ever since. Factotum has long been my favorite of his. The alcoholic in me identified with it from the first page on.

I sold off all my books (ALL my thousands of books, not just my Bukowski) in 2009 because I had moved four times in two years and swore I'd never move a single heavy box of books again. Been mainly sticking to borrowing from the library since then but I saw a clean early Black Sparrow copy of Love is a Dog From Hell at a Goodwill for $3 last fall and couldn't resist. Now six months later, I've got a nice little shelf of Bukowski going.

Mostly it's just reading copies but I've got a few nicer items--a signed Factotum broadside, a reasonably nice copy of Crucifix in a Deathhand, a second printing of Erections, Ejaculations, etc., and three or four Black Sparrow hardcovers (none of those signed.) I have also collected for years true crime-related vintage wire/press photos so even though it's not worth much I was happy to add a 1987-stamped wire photo of Hank from the set of Barfly. And I've got a copy of Outsider #3 coming to me in the mail right now.

Basically my goal right now is to add a reading copy of one of his books or small magazines once a week and then once every couple of months add something a little better. I think my next big goal is to add a letter with a drawing or a typed manuscript poem. Might take me a few months to save up for that and then a while longer to find one I like in particular. I still remember when all those manuscripts hit eBay around 2000/2001 and have kicked myself for not picking some up at the time though I probably would have sold them long ago anyways.

My collection is still small now but I've enjoyed watching it grow over the last few months, and, more than that, I've really liked reintroducing myself to Hank's writing. I look forward to continuing to read and learn from these forums and maybe now I'll even be able to contribute to the conversation every now and then. Thanks for reading this long rambling!

 

[Purple Stickpin]

I'm a collector and a reader, and while the collecting is addictive, the reading is really all that matters. So welcome, and don't tell anyone that the key is under the mat. The dog is taking a dump in the backyard and can't defend the homestead at this time.

 

[skiroomalum]

Nice set-up there. Welcome!

 

[CaseyW]

Thanks for the welcome, and, yes, Purple Stickpin, you're absolutely right--at the end of the day it's all about the words. The collecting is fun, the reading is essential.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Just a note on that signed prospectus for Factotum - sunning can really do a number on some of the signatures Buk did. If there's any direct sunlight coming in on that, I'd move it.

 

[CaseyW]

Sound advice and much appreciated. Like I said in my way-too-long intro post here, I have also collected vintage wire photos (mostly true crime-related) for years so am usually pretty aware of keeping paper collectibles out of the sunlight. If you think the sun can be bad on signatures and book spines, it can be 10x worse on old photographic paper.

But I'm pretty sure this broadside had been exposed to the sun already at some point in the past as this signature is definitely not the boldest Buk I've ever seen, though I still like how it presents overall. All my collectibles are displayed in a room with only one window that has blackout curtains that are very seldom open so hopefully it won't get any worse over time.

 

[Dirtydoh]

Nice collection there, welcome to the forum :)

 

[CaseyW]

Thanks for the welcome Dirtydoh.

Received my newest addition in the mail on Wednesday. I think this may be my favorite item yet. Though I haven't given it a thorough read or going over yet, I love how much Bukowski content there is in it, and I'd never seen the pictures of him from inside the magazine before. Looking forward to reading it all sometime soon. I think I'm going to reread the pertinent letters from Screams From a Balcony first, been a few years since I delved into that collection.

 

[d gray]

cool shots! never seen them before, thanks.

 

[skiroomalum]

Hmmm... That copy looks like one I used to have.;)

 

[CaseyW]

Being new here, I don't know the various connections between message board and eBay names. But it makes sense that such a nice book would belong to a member here. Once again, thanks and couldn't be happier with my purchase!

 

[roni]

these pics have also been on the cover of the first ed of the German 'Gedichte die einer schrieb bevor er im 8. Stockwerk aus dem Fenster sprang' (1974) by Maro:

http://collectingbukowski.com/books/8stockwerk.html

 

[CaseyW]

That cover is amazing! Just added a copy of that book to my want list. Even though I can't read German at all. Also decided this week that I really need a copy of "Life and Death in the Charity Ward" just because of its amazing cover photo even though I already have copies of "Erections, Ejaculations..." and "The Most Beautiful Woman..." and "Tales of Ordinary Madness."

And I couldn't resist and bought my next "big ticket" (for me anyways) item this past week but I'm going to wait until Monday to reveal it here as it has a sorta-tie in with something happening on that day. But I'm definitely not buying anything else substantial for awhile, spent too much money on Bukowski this past month. As much as I love Hank and what I've bought, I need to build my leisure spending money account back up a bit.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Also decided this week that I really need a copy of "Life and Death in the Charity Ward" just because of its amazing cover photo even though I already have copies of "Erections, Ejaculations..." and "The Most Beautiful Woman..." and "Tales of Ordinary Madness."

Be advised that the prices for those UK firsts are very much inflated on ebay. I scored the trio of Post Office, Life and Death..., and Factotum, all UK firsts, for just a few ticks over $200 about 4-5 years ago. That's probably below current market, but not by much. There's no reason why prices for these should be so high. However, there are a few signed copies of these on ebay, and they are so uncommon (I refuse to say rare, just because it connotes some price status that is not commensurate with the rarity/uncommoness) that it's hard to put a fair price on them. But $600-$1,100 is far too much, IMO. They're a stretch at $400-500 each, which is why I don't own any of the signed UK versions.

 

[CaseyW]

Be advised that the prices for those UK firsts are very much inflated on ebay. I scored the trio of Post Office, Life and Death..., and Factotum, all UK firsts, for just a few ticks over $200 about 4-5 years ago. That's probably below current market, but not by much.

Thanks for the good advice. Stuff like this is one of the reasons I joined this forum. Sounds like I need to be patient and look for a copy in the $75-100 range at most.

On a separate note, while I certainly wouldn't mind UK hardback copies of Post Office and Factotum at some point, they just don't interest me as much as ...Charity Ward does because of its photo cover. Black Sparrow copies of the first two were my introductions to Bukowski so I really identify them with those iconic Black Sparrow cover designs.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Well, I may have risked pissing off some sellers, but I stand by my estimates (I considered deleting my post for this reason, but too late). There's just no real demand for those UK firsts in the U.S., but sellers seem to price them as if there were. If you can get Life and Death south of $125, that's a good score these days. $75-$100 is going to take a lifetime, I suspect.

 

[CaseyW]

There's just no real demand for those UK firsts in the U.S., but sellers seem to price them as if there were. If you can get Life and Death south of $125, that's a good score these days. $75-$100 is going to take a lifetime, I suspect.

More good advice. I truly appreciate it. A copy of Life and Death... is definitely not at the top of my want list right now but I'll start keeping a look out now so I'll be ready when one does show up at a decent price. Thanks again for helping to teach this newb something.

 

[roni]

Just added a copy of that book to my want list.

be aware then, that later editions had a different cover.
It was only the first 3 or so editions in the 70s that had this one. (and btw all these 3 editions have been printed from the same plates, so even the 3rd ed states in the colophon it would be the 1st. Only a few people on the planet can still recognize the true 1sts - due to its binding.)

 

[CaseyW]

Opening Day! In honor of my favorite day of the year, I'll show here my newest Bukowski acquisition--a signed copy of the manuscript for "One Out," a baseball-related poem from 1982 that was originally published in Beauti-ful/Wormwood Review #110/111 in 1988.



I won't lie. It's not Hank's best poem by any means but there is a certain charm to the ending with the bat boy bugging the manager about what he's going to do now that his second baseman is dead. And it looks like Hank's "1" key on his typewriter was broken if you check out the street address and zip code. It'd be neat to see other manuscripts from around this time period to see how long this went on. Or heck, I am still a beginner when it comes to Bukowski, maybe he always typed his address with "I" instead of "1".

The poem was later Martinized in Come On In! The title was changed to "One Out in the Minor Leagues" because brevity is the enemy, I guess. Most of the other changes are small but pointless: It is cops that hold the crowd back instead of the original ushers. Also Martin thought it was important to mention it was a "tiny" crowd instead of just a crowd. and one of the player's names is changed. They throw a warm-up jacket on the dead player's face instead of the original towel. There are two wholly unnecessary descriptive lines thrown into the stanza where they carry the body off the field. The dressing room becomes a locker room. Couple of other "nows" and "right nows" added here and there for no reason. An exclamation mark or two as well.

Anyways, even though I'd rather have a carbon or actual typed manuscript, of course, I'm still ecstatic about adding this to my collection. I've been a baseball nut my entire life so that gives it a little extra appeal to me. It'll be a while before I buy anything else "big", but my collection is really shaping up.

 

[d gray]

great stuff! thanks for posting them.

It'd be neat to see other manuscripts from around this time period to see how long this went on.

you've seen this page? scroll down and see the 1982's ...

https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://bukowski.net/manuscripts/

 

[CaseyW]

Thanks! And yeah, I've seen that page. It was the first place I went when I was thinking about buying this manuscript. (It's already pictured there, of course, as this came originally from Scott at Abandoned Planet.) But the addresses in the manuscript section here are all whited out (I guess to give the current residents at these addresses a little more privacy) so couldn't compare with others from 1982.

 

[mjp]

the addresses in the manuscript section here are all whited out...

Only the San Pedro address, and only when the only copy I had to work with already had the address covered.

I used to worry about making that address available, but it's already easy to find it out there on the great, vast Internet, so there's no point.

And if someone wants to waste their time going down to San Pedro to stare at some shrubbery, well, knock yourself out. There's nothing to see. And if you're bold and asshole-ish enough to walk up the driveway and knock on the door, Linda is not going to welcome you with open arms and freshly baked cookies. All you'll meet are the police.

So, really, there's no point in going there. Bukowski's dead, for anyone who hasn't heard. Go to Green Hills and leave your beer cans there.

maybe he always typed his address with "I" instead of "1".

Everyone did, because there was not a 1 or 0 key on most manual typewriters. By the time he started using the IBM Selectric (which I think did have a 1), it was probably an ingrained habit to use the lowercase L in place of a 1.

 

[CaseyW]

there was not a 1 or 0 key on most manual typewriters.

Learn something new every day! I was born in 1974 so while I spent a decent amount of time on electric typewriters as a kid, I wasn't aware there wasn't a 1 key on most manual typewriters. Makes sense now that old timers would continue to type I instead of 1, kinda like you'll still see some people putting two spaces after a period when typing online.

 

[Andreas]

'Gedichte die einer schrieb bevor er im 8. Stockwerk aus dem Fenster sprang' by Maro

A little book with great content. I've recently bought a copy of it from Roni. Foreword by Carl Weissner, who recaps his first encounter with Bukowski at DeLongpre Ave. in 1968. Funny and insightful. The foreword is followed by 36 poems translated into German, i.a. A Night of Mozart, When Hugo Wolf went mad and I met a Genius. At the end of the book are, among other documents, several letters (facsimiles) Bukowski wrote to Carl Weissner and Benno Käsmayr (founder of MaroVerlag).
Oh, by the way, welcome Casey!

 

[CaseyW]

Been a little over a month since my last update here. Haven't added a ton of items in the last month, probably 10-15 reading copies of various books, nothing too special in there. I did buy a cool poster advertising a 1975 poetry reading in San Francisco. Going on a long beach trip at the end of the month and need to buy a new laptop before then so I'm not planing on buying anything else Bukowski-wise anytime soon. I'm going to need a bigger bookshelf by the end of the summer though.