Extremely Rare Vinyl LP, Still in Shrink Wrap: Poetry – Charles Bukowski Steve Richmon (1968)

This Vinyl LP from 1968 is one of the rarest Charles Bukowski works. Even rare vinyl record collectors (with no particular interest in Bukowski) will tell you it’s one of the most elusive LPs that is in high demand among the vinyl faithful.

I was produced by Steve Richmond and sold only at his Earth Rose bookshop in Santa Monica, California. There are differences of opinion on how many were actually produced, with some saying 20 and others saying 100. One thing’s for sure: There are few still in existence.  Even back in January 1969 when A Bibliography of Charles Bukowski was released, author Sanford Dorbin had only seen four copies of the recording.

Like many works after the advent of the internet, more copies appeared on the market, but the count is probably less than 20.

There are two versions of the cover. This is the version with that is all-white cover with a hold punch on both sides to display the label.

Amazingly enough, this copy is still in the original shrink wrap, with only 1” of the cover exposed.

The stock used on this version is thin compared to the other, making one wonder if there was an original run of 20, prior to this one being produced. The record itself seems to be identical.

II am not qualified to grade vinyl records, but here is my description The white covers are very bright and clean. The exposed area has tiny show of wear, with bumps to the top and bottom. There is a also a 1” split on the bottom right. And, as I mentioned, the stock is thiner so there are some tiny creases along the right edge and some ripples close to the edge as well.

The sleeve is nice and bright and has a second clear layer of transparent material to protect the label. I don’t think it’s original to the record, but who knows?

There is a noticeable, but shallow scratch on the left side of the Bukowski label and a similar one of the left side of the Richmond label. Other than those two, the rest of the record looks new to a novice like myself.

The five Bukowski poems on his side of the record are as follows: