Paintings tipped in books (1 Viewer)

Evas

Evas

Many of the "upper end" Bukowski books have original paintings (not prints) tipped in & I've seen these advertised on abe and, at times, on ebay. I've noticed that some of these are pastels but what other medium did Buk use? Are we talking watercolours, crayons, oils, . . . other stuff?

Another question: did Buk choose specific paintings for specific volumes? or was it more ad hoc? If so, did Martin choose these things as he did many of the poems?

What are people's thoughts on these (very expensive) editions? Nice one going for a tidy sum on abe.
 
Bukowski used different media to produce these paintings. I have copies that use pastels and thickly laid on acrylics. I'm not an artist and thus not familiar with different types of media. Perhaps someone else here can elaborate. My understanding is that Bukowski sent batches of artwork to Martin and there was no real rhyme or reason as to how they were inserted in the books. The quality of the paintings I have vary widely. You might want to click on the Art link on the left for a good overall view.
 
Acrylics, watercolors, pastels, oil paint, pens - Roughly in that order. Crayons after 1967 or so (guess why), but they were usually used on letters, not art for books.

I think he gave up using oil early on, as that takes forever to dry, and it isn't made to use on paper. The few I've seen, the oil from the paint has saturated the paper, which isn't the greatest thing to have pressed between the pages of an expensive book.

As for the cost, if you can afford one now, buy it. They are (usually) the rarest forms of the books they are in, and just looking at it as art, you rarely get the chance to buy a Bukowski painting these days outside of a book, so if you're really interested in owning his art, you have to go to the books.

Value-wise though, I wouldn't pay top dollar for a book with a sub-par painting. I mean, I might if it was my first, just to get some art. But I would hold out for a piece of art that really appeals to you. nymark is right about the quality varying, but when he was on his game he could make some very emotional and interesting art.

Something like this though: http://abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=749677396 is way overpriced.

And this one, while the painting is a little better, is still way, way too expensive: http://abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=747518739

But unless you have a yard sale find, you're going to pay a lot for the books with paintings now. Not as much as those abe listings, but a lot.
 
Bukowski at a Yard Sale? You're joking...

mjp said:
...unless you have a yard sale find, you're going to pay a lot for the books with paintings now...
Click to expand...

The idea of finding anything by Bukowski at a yard sale [or, more commonly here in the UK a Car Boot sale - i.e selling whatever you can fit in the boot or trunk of your car in local field or park] has always seemed unlikely to me...

Then today I picked up a blue covered Notes of a Dirty Old Man, a first edition of Laughing with the Gods, a BSP South of No North, a Virgin paperback Factotum, an Allison & Busby Post Office, the BSP chapbook Charles Bukowski by Jack Saunders and a sealed pack of 5 post cards from BSP. All those plus a paperback of Fight Club (Palahniuk), Ask the Dust (Fante) and a UK 1st edition of Junkie (Burroughs). The total price was £2.00 - $3.65 if you like... Ok, so they aren't really rare or valuable but I've never seen a single Bukowski book before in all my years of car booting!

Most of those will be passed on, as I have nice copies anyway, but how can you refuse even the horrible Virgin edition of Factotum for about 30cents?

Now - do I open the BSP postcards or just put them away somewhere safe?

And I can't work out if this copy of Burroughs' Junkie is worth $5 or $100...

Maybe next week I'll just stumble across a fine copies of Write, Signature 1 and the True Story broadside... well why not.
 
Hi,
The first UK of Junkie is probably worth $5 - $10. The one that is truly valuable is the Split with HElbradt. It was published by Ace in 1953. Even the first edition that Olympia does not bring more that $20.

Still. That is a great read...

Bill
 
Hi Bill
This is the green Olympia one. On ABE there's plenty of cheap ones but one or two pricey ones, and on Ebay, there's an identical one for 99$ US. Probably just wishful thinking on the sellers part, but who knows what those crazy French might pay ... :eek:
 
Bill:

Thanks for the details on the art. I wasn't aware that he used crayon. Probably Marina's, right? I agree that the art will only go up in price as the fame spreads. The quality is very uneven. Some paintings look like he was just going through the motions, uninspired. Others are raw genius.

Hank Solo: I've never found any Bukowski at yard sales, thrift stores or library book sales, but you never know. My mom once bought a stack of Kerouac firsts in dj, all fine condition, for a quarter each at a yard sale. I have made some good finds in used book shops and online. I think it's always exposure (constantly looking) plus sheer luck. But it happens. A friend tells me that he discovered my writing by finding one of my chapbooks at a thriftshop. That was before I knew him. I like that.
 
hank solo said:
The idea of finding anything by Bukowski at a yard sale [or, more commonly here in the UK a Car Boot sale - i.e selling whatever you can fit in the boot or trunk of your car in local field or park] has always seemed unlikely to me...
Click to expand...
I've never found anything, but then again, I haven't gone to a yard sale in about 15 years, so that could explain that. The friend I mentioned elsewhere who bought the rare Bukowski stuff found it at a yard sale in Hollywood, which seems logical and appropriate I suppose.
 
the $2000 edition

bospress.net said:
The one that is truly valuable is the Split with HElbradt. It was published by Ace in 1953.
Bill
Click to expand...
Looks like this->
junkie.jpg


And yes, it's a great read
 
Just what I need, another enabler...my mother warned me about people like you...
and I thought my first edition HST Curse of Lono was something to brag about...ah well.
 
Speaking of Curse of Lono, I see it's been reprinted. Has that hurt the value of the original edition? The last time I checked, even ratty copies of the original were going for good money.
 
Holy shit, I had no idea that The Curse of Lono was a valuable book. Heh. I'll have to pull mine off the shelf and seal it in Plexiglas and put it in my climate controlled vault!

Seriously, some of the prices on abe for the Bantam original from '83 are wild. I figured there were millions of those out there. Goes to show how much I know.
 

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