Charles Bukowski Collection Offered by PBA Galleries on July 14
A spectacular collection of Charles Bukowski formed by Allen Berlinski will be offered by PBA Galleries on July 14th, 2016. Nearly half the sale will be comprised by signed editions, limited editions with original paintings by Bukowski, periodical appearances, as well as manuscript poems and correspondence from the poet. The second half of the auction includes modern literary works from authors such as Samuel Beckett, William S. Burroughs, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, Jack Micheline, Henry Miller, Tim O’Brien, John Steinbeck, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, and many, many others. Also featured are several works in complete series including Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga, and a complete set of all twenty first editions from Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey - Marutin series.
A six-page original typewritten manuscript draft of Bukowski’s Notes of a Dirty Old Man is one of many manuscript items featured in this sale. Holograph edits are in red ink, including a character’s name change from Harry to Marty. The transcript also includes drawings on the first page of three men and one woman and is signed in black in on the last page. Comparison with the published text reveals that Bukowski revised the short story yet again before it appeared in book form. (Estimate: $3,000/$5,000)
A first edition of Bukowski’s first novel, Post Office, is also on the block. Published by Black Sparrow Press, an original color pastel drawing signed “Buk” is tipped in opposite the title page. (Estimate: $4,000/$6,000). One of only 75 copies, At Terror Street and Agony Way, also comes with an original painting. (Estimate: $4,000/$6,000). These are examples of the many works with paintings by Bukowski offered in the sale.
There are also a number of lots of correspondence from Charles Bukowski to be auctioned. One example is a typed letter from Bukowski to E. V. Griffith acknowledging payment of $50 for eleven poems published in Hearse magazine. (Estimate: $700/$1,000)
From the second half of the sale, one of the highlights is a complete set of all twenty volumes of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series. All first English Editions are in their original dust jackets (Estimate: $4,000/$6,000) A number of Stephen King books are offered including a signed limited edition of his 1981 psychological horror thriller, Cujo (Estimate: $700/$1,000). A large selection of works by Henry Miller includes an original watercolor tribute to composer Darius Milhaud (Estimate: $1,200/$1,800). Jim’s Books, is the rare first work by Pulitzer Prize winner James Merrill that was published by the author’s father when the poet was a young student at the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, NJ (Estimate: $3,000/$5,000)
The sale will begin at 11:00am Pacific Time. The public may preview the auction Monday, July 11th, 1 - 5pm, Tuesday and Wednesday, July 12th and 13th, 9am - 5pm; and Thursday, July 14th, 9-11am or by appointment at PBA Galleries in San Francisco. PBA accepts absentee bids by phone, fax or email or bids may be placed during the sale in person or online. The entire catalog may be viewed at http://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/399/ . For more information, please contact PBA at (415) 989-2665 or pba@pbagalleries.com.
PBA Galleries
1233 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
