mjp
Founding member
More than 2/3 actually, since he's also getting a bunch of the issues that are single poet chapbooks (10 issues = 8 books). I think that leaves only 35 issues for a full run.
Sold Full run of Bukowski in Wormwood Review
- Thread starter mjp
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mjp
Founding member
Wow, thanks! Look at that loopy sig above the actual sig in the second photo. That's the type of signature that's inside the front cover of my Issue #1 (see a few posts up).
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bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Did Marvin have two completely different signatures? That is very odd. I have seen both but never questioned why.
It is odd. Add in A. Sypher and he has three.
Yeah, 3/4! Reckon I'll sit on these for a good while. Sounds like the early copies are pretty damn elusive.
I really don't know anything about the rare book market. Looking over some of the threads here, I'm getting that collectable titles are listed on sites like Abebooks for unreasonably high prices. And a lot of these items sell by the looks of it. But then there are references like the above implying that it's hard to sell rare books etc. at good prices. I'm guessing, it's complicated?
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
If you are patient, you can do it. The 2 rarest ones are #1 & #2.
Some of the other really rare ones are included in the ones that you just bought. #71 (Legs, Hips & Behind) and #105 (for no particular reason) are extremely rare.
I probably have a couple here that you may need. If I do, I'll sell them to you at a very fair price. Well below the folks at abe.
Bill
Some of the other really rare ones are included in the ones that you just bought. #71 (Legs, Hips & Behind) and #105 (for no particular reason) are extremely rare.
I probably have a couple here that you may need. If I do, I'll sell them to you at a very fair price. Well below the folks at abe.
Bill
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
I believe that most copies of #105 were mis-trimmed. Seems to be most of the run. The one that MJP sold is straight as an arrow, but the signed one that I have is crooked. Does not bother me as I know that this is an issue with this one. I have seen a total of three copies of #105 in my life and 2 of them were mis-trimmed. This is the only issue that I have ever seen mis-trimmed. Maybe most copies were rejected by the publisher.
Mine appears to be as well. The spine edge is 8 1/4" while the right edge is 8 3/16". Mine is an un-numbered copy. I almost wish I didn't have a full run; tracking these down was a real joy. Almost.
mjp
Founding member
I wonder how that could happen on a big guillotine cutter? I used to cut on those for a living and I can see one lift (stack) being slightly off, but 600 or 700 copies? The backstop would have to be out of whack, and that's not something you usually adjust or change once it's square with the cutting edge (I don't recall ever adjusting one in 15 years of using them). Seems odd.
Ah, memories! None of them good.
chronic
old and in the way
I dug them out and I was almost correct. The colophon:
"Volume 1, Number 1 of the Wormwood Review was printed by letterpress in 1959, in an edition of 500 copies. Of the original 28-page signatures printed, 12 remained without covers. On March 19, 2000, facsimile covers were xeroxed and affixed to the original letterpress pages. This is number 1 of 12 copies."
It is signed by Christa and the wraps are a heavy card stock.
#2 is as I said... a straight xerox copy numbered 40/30 at the colophon and signed by Marvin.
Oh... my #105 is trimmed perfectly.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Maybe I have seen the only 2 out of 700 that were mistrimmed!
My #105 is fine, but my #1 is mistrimmed by quite a bit. Not that I'm complaining, though - I'm happy to have it in any state.
Remember, if you have questions about Wormwood, you can always ask me. Both styles of signatures shown in this post are my father's. He experimented with his signature over the years, and even made his own bookplate and a block print for signing some of his wood-block prints.
Regarding the full set of Wormwood issues: There were 137 discrete issues, with the cover numbering going up to 145/146. The explanation for that discrepancy is that there were a number of "double issues," including the Bukowski chaps 110/111 and 122/123. Also note that the printed issues had all kinds of production flaws over the years. Some are not trimmed quite right or have irregular printing, but that is the way they were produced. Wormwood was not a commercial enterprise; it was just a bare-bones production. However, I have now gone through almost all the back issues and kept only the best copies without major flaws. So original back issues are still available. If you're interested in copies, you can use the contact link on the Wormwood website (wormwoodreview.com)
Regarding the full set of Wormwood issues: There were 137 discrete issues, with the cover numbering going up to 145/146. The explanation for that discrepancy is that there were a number of "double issues," including the Bukowski chaps 110/111 and 122/123. Also note that the printed issues had all kinds of production flaws over the years. Some are not trimmed quite right or have irregular printing, but that is the way they were produced. Wormwood was not a commercial enterprise; it was just a bare-bones production. However, I have now gone through almost all the back issues and kept only the best copies without major flaws. So original back issues are still available. If you're interested in copies, you can use the contact link on the Wormwood website (wormwoodreview.com)