"A note upon starvation"

[gash24]

Hi all.
I have this poem signed by CB with a COA and was wondering what it was worth or if anyone would like to give me an offer.
Any info would be great.
Cheers
Ben

http://bukowski.net/vault/display_man.php?show=poem1977-10-15-a_note_upon_starvation.jpg&workid=360

 

[hank solo]

Hi Ben.

The value of manuscripts can vary wildly.

Just a few years ago, you'd get one like that for around $100 US, or less. Perhaps you did :)

Then there was a huge rush in the Bukowski market, mostly driven by two buyers with deep pockets, so then a ms like this jumped up to something like $1000 or more.

But I'm not sure now. The global recession seems to have caused the values for all collectables to drop. And the market still seems to be fairly depressed, so online auctions of Buk items and the like are suffering.

This looks like a nice one though, so sure someone will make a decent offer. Not me sadly.

 

[bospress.net]

Yes, depending on date, corrections, it can vary. Yours is 1977 and has a couple hand corrections. In this market, you could see it sell for $400 - $600, although even at $400, it may not sell. Things are tough out there and people are not buying much. when they are buying, they are not paying much.

These were being sold on ebay about 8 years ago for $100 or so and the seller would list a couple dozen poems at a time, so people like me that would buy a poem at $100, could not afford to buy them all. It really was a flood. Then these two buyers appeared and drove the prices up, but also created a false sense of reality. One buyer specifically, would pay thousands for a short xeroxed poem, which was WAY over what it was ever worth (and what I believe it will be worth in the next 50 years).

Bill

 

[mjp]

One buyer specifically, would pay thousands for a short xeroxed poem, which was WAY over what it was ever worth (and what I believe it will be worth in the next 50 years).

For the Xeroxes and computer printouts, you're right, I don't think they will ever have much value beyond the value of the signature. Carbons like this though (not to mention the small number of original pre-carbon-paper typescripts that still exist) will eventually be worth some dough.

Manuscripts from well-known writers can sell for more than the $1500 or $2000 that was the top of the recent Bukowski market. The only thing that will hold the price down for his is the sheer number of poem manuscripts out there. That also assumes that another large cache won't ever hit the market. The Huntington has Bukowski's, but I haven't heard what became of Martin's copies. If they weren't donated, someone is sitting on a stash even larger than the couple thousand that Scott Harrison sold in the 90s.

 

[gash24]

Thanks alot for the info, it's been a great help.
Ben

 

[Rekrab]

[...] The Huntington has Bukowski's, but I haven't heard what became of Martin's copies. If they weren't donated, someone is sitting on a stash even larger than the couple thousand that Scott Harrison sold in the 90s.

I remember the multiple manuscripts on eBay but had no idea there were that many. Any idea where the Scott Harrison got them?

 

[mjp]

I asked him where he got them, but that was years ago and I can't recall at the moment. I noticed that a lot of the manuscripts he had appeared in Wormwood though...