Collecting Charles Bukowski
Selling Charles Bukowski
David Kotthoff is a collector of all things Charles Bukowski and will be selling part of his collection in Bellmans' rare book auction in December.1
Bukowski has been a constant companion in my life. I re-read his novels, short stories and poetry collections regularly, I re-watch poetry readings and documentaries. A few years after first coming across Bukowski that night, having left my home country of Germany to explore the world with just a few bucks in my pocket, I developed a desire for owning a signed first edition. I don't recall with certainty which was the very first Bukowski rarity I purchased, or who the seller was, though something tells me it likely was a signed and limited first edition of Hot Water Music, a 1983 collection of short stories.
A visitor complains of my disenfranchise
BUKOWSKI, Charles (1920-94). A visitor complains of my disenfranchise ... Los Angeles: Illuminati ["a tadbook"], 1987. Tall 8vo (216 x 90mm). 20-pages. Stitched into original stiff black wrappers in the shape of a door with a small metal door handle attached to the upper wrapper, uncut. Provenance: from the Collection of David Kothoff. FIRST EDITION. ONE OF 225 COPIES. RARE. Krumhansl 105.2
“How I Started My Collection: David Kotthoff.” The Book Collector. 22/10/2024
Thank you for this. I have been collecting books by Evelyn Waugh for 50 years -- not as collectables but as companions!
There were some interesting Bukowski materials at the University of California-Santa Barbara library when I worked there, including a lot of correspondence. One of our donor board members resigned when he learned that Special Collections had bought even more (he was not a fan).