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The Buk Shop

The Official Charles Bukowski 1985 “Calender” Black Sparrow Press (1985)

The Official Charles Bukowski 1985 “Calender” Black Sparrow Press (1985)

$150.00 USD
$150.00 USD
Sale Sold out
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You either love this calendar or hate it. That’s been my experience. Personally, I’m on the love it side.

According to John Martin in a letter to his list of Bukowski collectors:

”We are preparing to publish a 'Charles Bukowski Calendar' in 1986.
It was necessary to have a prototype prepared in time for this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Twenty-five copies only were printed for the year 1985. The artwork will now be redrawn for 1986.
Since you are especially interested in the work of Charles Bukowski, we thought you would like to have one of these printed prototypes of which there are only twenty-five numbered copies. We are billing you at our cost.”


This copy is not numbered, so it was not one of the 25 Martin refers to, but whatever the number, there wasn’t many and there was no calendar published in 1986 or any other year. Perhaps a German man came up to Martin at the Frankfurt Book Fair and told him in broken English that he spelled “Calender” on the cover instead of “Calendar”.

There were two versions made, this being the smaller measuring 8.5” x 11” and is in Fine condition.

The spiral-bound calendar features a full-page illustration for each month spoofing a day-in-the-life of Bukowski's lifestyle. Individual dates on the calendar itself cite important moments in Bukowski's life and other events in literary and pop-culture history.

Charles Putris illustrated the calendar and I think his grainy depictions of Bukowski’s gritty life is spot on. I’m a little surprised John Martin had the sense of humor to print it after trying to protect Bukowski’s “image” for so long.

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