20 Tanks from Kasseldown by Charles Bukowski in Portfolio III (1946)

Published in 1946 by Black Sun Press, “20 Tanks from Kasseldown” was Charles Bukowski’s second published work. As with his first published appearance in Whit Burnett’s famed Story magazine (1944), the contributors section found Bukowski’s name alongside many established and popular writers of the day. In the case of Portfolio III, those names included Jean-Paul Sartre, Henry Miller, García Lorca, Jean Genet and Kenneth Rexroth.

As with his appearance in Story, 20 Tanks from Kasseldown was a short story, this time produced as a 16” x 12” broadside printed on both sides in a two-column format. The 30 additional broadsides in Portfolio III were made up of different sizes, colors and paper stock, housed in a 11.5” x 15” folio. The issue had a limitation of 1,000 copies.

The Bukowski broadside itself is in Near Fine-minus condition with some light toning and tiny bumps to the corners. There are no tears or creases to the edges. Overall, a superior copy compared to many found elsewhere. 

The folio itself has the same issues as most copies: Splitting along spine fold, chipping and tears to edges, and toning on the covers. Like the Bukowski broadside, the other pieces are in Near Fine-minus condition or better.

Crate 1

Black Sun Press was founded in 1928 by Harry Crosby and his wife Caresse Crosby (American inventor of the modern bra). As American expatriates living in Paris, they published several authors before they became well-known, including D. H. Lawrence and James Joyce. Other authors included Ezra Pound, Archibald MacLeish, Ernest Hemingway, Eugene Jolas and Oscar Wilde.

After Harry’s death as part of a suicide pact with a mistress, Caresse Crosby went on to publish six issues of Portfolio: An Intercontinental Quarterly. Only 1,000 copies of each issue (including Portfolio III) were printed.