Hi Onions,
This is a little booklet that was published by Black Sparrow Press as a New Years Greeting to friends of the press. They were given away and never offered for sale by the press. They are a bit ephemeral, but cool to collect. The first Bukowski New Years Greeting (NYG) was published in 1969 (for NY 1970) and the last one was in 2001 (or 2002?).
This is absolutely authentic and was hand signed by Bukowski. This is one of the rarer hardcovers (they were issued in numbered hardcover, lettered hardcover and paper). The paper copies sell for about $15 each. I have always thought that if you are going to collect Bukowski with the idea of having a complete collection at some point, collecting New Years Greetings is a great start. A full set of paperback editions would cost you a couple hundred (if you are not impatient and buy them all on abe!). At 130 pounds this is a bit overpriced as a buy it now.
I will gladly post a full listing of all of the years and titles, unless someone else has a list handy. They are cool to have these poems before they were published in full volumes.
If you are looking to get the hardcover copies, it is best to start with the post 1993 ones as they are not signed and are less expensive. You will probably pay about $50 a piece for those with the earlier signed ones going for $100 - $125.
One of the great things about Black Sparrow Press is that they made the signed copies so SOLID in idenifying as authentic. By examining the first edition "points" it gives you an almost certainty that these are authentic and not forgeries.
If you are thinking about collecting Bukowski Krumhansl's biblio is a must. It will save you money of costly mistakes.
Bill
