Charles Bukowski and the Girly Magazines

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Charles Bukowski wrote short stories for a number of adult magazines. He needed the money. Most little magazines paid nothing — these paid.

What makes them genuinely collectible is what he said at the time: he hadn't compromised his style. He injected some sex into his typical stories to satisfy the editors, but the voice was still entirely his. Some of that material — including early chapters of Post Office — appeared here before it appeared anywhere else.

These magazines are rarer than they look. Lower circulation than later publications like Hustler or Penthouse, and fewer surviving copies as a result.

Browse everything below — and read the descriptions. Each one has a story.