Last updated 25 August 2009
This page is for those of us who enjoy the challenge of collecting all of
those hard-to-find Jim Carroll items — like first editions, broadsides,
translations, out-of-print albums, bootlegs, translations, ephemera, and memorabilia.
I’ve found
the best places to find such items are eBay and Bibliofind, which is now part of Amazon.com. I’ve also recently found some great sources for really rare memorabilia and ephemera, including Wofgang’s Vault
(more later, after I’ve had more time to check out the others). The links you just read should take you to the appropriate search results on the sites. (If these links stop working, please let me know!)
Be aware, when searching various sources for collectibles, that there are several Jim Carrolls. You will find lots of stuff by our Canadian friend Jim Carroll (who is a fan of our Jim Carroll), a novelist named James Carroll, a sports figure named Jim Carroll, a journalist named Jim Carroll, a jazz scholar named Jim Carroll, and a singer named Jimmy Carroll . . . among others. In general, if the item is not listed on this website, it’s probably one of these various other Jim Carrolls. However, when in doubt, ASK ME! A number of times, people have emailed to ask me about stuff, and I have checked it and discovered an item I didn’t know about. Please, just dont’ BUY any questionable items until you ask me.
Sometimes people advertise stuff that is not what you hope it is. I’ve run across a lot of forged materials, fake autographs, etc. Sometimes it’s not easy to recognize these things. This site has a lot of examples of Jim Carroll’s signature. You can use these examples to check what you’re thinking about buying, but, well, fakers can also use them to forge autographs. When in doubt, send an image of the item to me and I’ll do my best to advise you.
Here’s
a brief overview of collectible items. Follow the links for details.
Collectible First Edition Books
All Carroll first editions have collector value. The rarest (and
most valuable) first editions are:
- The
Basketball Diaries (Tombouctou, 1978) - Living
at the Movies (Grossman, 1973) — hardcover - The
Book of Nods (Penguin, 1986) — hardcover, review
copy - The
Book of Nods (Penguin, 1986) — hardcover - Forced
Entries (Penguin, 1987) — uncorrected proofs - Living
at the Movies (Grossman, 1973) — paperback - The
Book of Nods (Penguin, 1986) — uncorrected proofs - Void
of Course (Penguin, 1998) — uncorrected proofs - The
Book of Nods (Penguin, 1986) — paperback - The
Basketball Diaries and The Book of Nods (Faber, 1987)
Books Gaining in Collector Value
- Fear
of Dreaming (Penguin, 1993) — first edition - The
Basketball Diaries (Bantam, 1981) — first printing - The
Basketball Diaries (Penguin, 1987) — first printing
Collectible Limited Editions & Broadsides
All
Carroll limited editions and broadsides have high collector
value. Click here to view a page
devoted to limited editions & broadsides.
- 4 Ups and 1 Down (Angel Hair, 1970) — 13 numbered/signed
copies with hair - Organic
Trains (Penny Press, 1967) - 4
Ups and 1 Down (Angel Hair, 1970) — 287 unnumbered
copies - A
Poet Dies (Toothpaste Press, 1980) - From
NYC Variations (West Coast Print Center, 1977) - Poem,
Interview, Photographs (White Fields Press, 1994) - 8
Fragments for Kurt Cobain (White Fields Press, 1994) - “Cheered
and Greeted” and “A Window in Cherry Valley”
(Adventures in Poetry, 1973) - Valentine
(1996) - River
Jordan (2001)
Hard to Find Books
- The
Basketball Diaries (Penguin, 1998) — 5th edition - Forced
Entries (Penguin, 1998) — 2nd edition
Translations
Carroll’s
books have been translated into many languages. Check
out the Translations section of this website for details.
Rare Recordings & Videos
Visit this page to learn about rare recordings and videos.
In addition to the recordings listed are the following rarities:
- Catholic
Boy (1980) — some foreign editions have a lyrics
sheet; also, some copies were pressed on the Rolling Stones
label. - Curtis’s
Charm: Original Motion Picture soundtrack (Rabid
Dog Productions, 1996) - Reading
at Naropa Institute (Naropa Institute Archives Project,
1986) — audiotape - Rimbaud
Lectures at New College (American Poetry Archive,
1978) — 4 audiotapes - Reading
at San Francisco State University (American Poetry
Archive, 1974) — videotape - Plus
a whole world of as-yet-unclassified recordings and videotapes
housed at the Poetry
Project, the Naropa
Institute, the Paul
Blackburn Papers at University of San Diego’s Mandeville
Library, and in the collections of individual fans
like you!
Out of Print Albums
While they don’t yet have much collector value, out-of-print albums
are must-haves in the Jim Carroll fan’s collection. They include:
- Dry
Dreams (1982) - Praying
Mantis (1991) - Pools
of Mercury (1998) - Tuff
Turf film soundtrack (1985) - Various
spoken-word collaborations - Various
musical collaborations and “guest appearances”
Hard-to-Find Films
Go here for an overview of Carroll’s films. Here are the
hard-to-find ones.
- Curtis’s
Charm (John L’Ecuyer, 1995) - Poetry
in Motion II (Ron Mann, 1995) - Listen
to the City (Ron Mann, 1984) - Gang
of Souls (Maria Beatty, nd)
Memorabilia & Ephemera
Collectible memorabilia includes t-shirts, buttons, posters, photographs,
magazines and newspapers containing articles by/about Carroll,
and so on. Ephemera includes stuff like concert/reading
promotional flyers, ticket stubs, etc. For some examples,
see the Artwork, Autographs, &
Artifacts page and the Promos,
Posters, Etc. section.
A good source for memorabilia & ephemera is Wofgang’s Vault