New Year's Greeting editions (1 Viewer)

In what year did BSP first release its New Year's Greeting, featuring Buk's poems? To whom were these editions sent? I understand they were not for general sale (though now, the signed ones reach hundreds on ebay) and were issued for "Friends" etc. Are these, or will these be, given their relative rarity, the most sought after Buk publications?
 
I'll answer your first question->
In 1969 BSP released Buk's If We Take
As a New Year's Greeting....
I'm quite sure that was the first one.

In my opinion these N Y's G certainly won't be the most sought after.
But that doesn't mean I still wouldn't like a signed #ed/and or lettered copy of each:D
 
As obsessive as my collecting is, I do not own ONE of the New Year's greetings. I thought they were overpriced vanity items - and that was many years ago when they were even less expensive than they are now. Plus, if I bought one, I would have to own all and I just found it easier to dismiss them from my library. My advice is to save your money for something more substantial.
 
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I disagree with you here... I think the New Years Greetings are a good way to start a collection of signed Bukowski since, relative to the signed and numbered books, they are fairly inexpensive (with the exception of the lettered... those are pretty steep). You can always pick up the pricier stuff later, when and if you can find decent deals.
 
I'm with nymark. I got rid of the ones I owned recently. I used to get them from Greg Smith at Mother Road. Black Sparrow sent him a few every year.

Since the poems or stories in them almost always show up in the book released that year, I didn't see any point in holding on to them. Also, like nymark, when I had them I felt compelled to get all of them, and I just wasn't feeling it.
 
I agree with Chronic. Nice little booklets. I have the full run (I'm one of those obsessives). Most are the paperback editions, but from 1994 and on, I have both the HB & PB. If I had a few spare thousand dollars, I would get a few other books, first, (Burning in WAter HB 1st Trade for one), but then I'd set my sights on the signed HB's from when Buk was alive.

Also, here is a question. Anyone know why Buk did not sign the 1994 NYG? If it really was published in Feb 1994, I would assume that the book would have been in the works for a bit longer and before Buk was sick. Of course, at the end, signing sheets probably was not priority. Just curious.

Bill
 
zoom man said:
I'll answer your first question->
In 1969 BSP released Buk's If We Take
As a New Year's Greeting....
I'm quite sure that was the first one.:D

No shit? IF WE TAKE was the first one? Damn! I once had a copy of that. Loved the poem. I shoulda, coulda, woulda, etc.

David
 
bospress.net said:
Most are the paperback editions, but from 1994 and on, I have both the HB & PB.
My collecting illness dictates that I would not be satisfied with a run of paperback editions. Because I know that there are signed, numbered editions out there, I would require a run of those (if not the lettered editions, for Christ's sake!) The amount of money I needed to invest in a complete run of signed editions was/is not worth the expenditure to me.
 
nymark said:
My collecting illness dictates that I would not be satisfied with a run of paperback editions. Because I know that there are signed, numbered editions out there, I would require a run of those (if not the lettered editions, for Christ's sake!) The amount of money I needed to invest in a complete run of signed editions was/is not worth the expenditure to me.
I started off picking up signed paperback copies from Red (at about $10.00 a shot if I recall) then started replacing those, slowly, with signed numbered or lettered hardcovers. There are still a few paperbacks, both signed and unsigned, in my collection, mainly serving as placeholders until I upgrade (if and when), but I'm not in any hurry to do so. I still don't have, and have never had, "Art" in any form though. It's the damnedest thing...
 
HI,
I have ART, but not the hand lettered or signed. Still a beautiful little booklet.

It is a tough one to find. Aren't there any copies on abe?

BIll
 
Yes. Joe Maynard, a great book guy in Brooklyn, NY, has a signed edition for $350 that includes a "compliments of the publisher" card. There are two other copies listed for $1500 and $2000 by Vicarious Books (also in Brooklyn). Vicarious prices his Bukowski items so high that I'd be amazed to find if he's ever sold anything.
 
Yeah, but if I price my bananas at $50 a bunch, and you walk in and say, "Fifty dollars!? Are you out of your mind?!" and I say, "For you --- $20!" you might buy. And you'd still be overpaying. ;)

Maybe that's what Vicarious does. They have to sell or they wouldn't be in business.
 
bospress.net said:
It is a tough one to find. Aren't there any copies on abe?
Yes... there are several copies available... I've just never owned one, and it's not that I don't want one. One of these days I'm sure that I will get around to picking one up.
nymark said:
Yes. Joe Maynard, a great book guy in Brooklyn, NY, has a signed edition for $350 that includes a "compliments of the publisher" card. There are two other copies listed for $1500 and $2000 by Vicarious Books (also in Brooklyn). Vicarious prices his Bukowski items so high that I'd be amazed to find if he's ever sold anything.
The two copies that Vicarious lists are the original, hand-drawn versions (one of them slipcased). The one that Joe Maynard has is the later printed version.

Yes, Vicarious is expensive but they do carry some of the REALLY hard to find stuff. They appeal to the high-end collector... the person who has to have the absolute best items available. I'm sure that Nick Lawrence wouldn't have a problem with their pricing. If you want to see seriously over-priced books, look at Modern Rare. They tend to list things that were easily available a year or two before for about 4 times what they're worth.
 
Hi,
I agree that Andrew at Vicarious has some great books that are only a dream for me to own. His prices seem high, but given the condition and rarity, etc, it is reasonable. There is another seller on abe that lists books at very high prices. I have never understood how he sells books at those prices. I don't want to say the name, but there are many times where a copy of the signed HB of the book from another seller will be the same price as he is asking for the unsigned HB trade edition of it. Conditions being the same. Then again, many times, he may have the only copy available. Still, I won't pay twice the real value because I'm a bit impatient. Anything worth buying is worth waiting for...

Bill
 

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