Collecting Jim Carroll

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

• 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

• 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 .