# Is "At Terror Street and Agony Way" by Charles Bukowski a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of At Terror Street and Agony Way by Charles Bukowski (Black Sparrow Press, 1968) is identified by: Black Sparrow's first Bukowski title, issued in two formats. True first is the 1968 Black Sparrow edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Black Sparrow's first Bukowski title, issued in two formats
- Trade issue in wrappers (about 800 copies) with a mounted paper title label; the earliest state has the label misprinting the word as 'Sreet' on a small number of copies before correction
- Hardcover issue of 75 copies, signed and numbered by Bukowski in the colophon, each with an original tipped-in painting by the author and lengthwise spine labels printed in red
- Publisher imprint reads Black Sparrow Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Bukowski |
| Publisher | Black Sparrow Press |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Black Sparrow's first Bukowski title, issued in two formats |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Black Sparrow's first Bukowski title, issued in two formats. Trade issue in wrappers (about 800 copies) with a mounted paper title label; the earliest state has the label misprinting the word as 'Sreet' on a small number of copies before correction. Hardcover issue of 75 copies, signed and numbered by Bukowski in the colophon, each with an original tipped-in painting by the author and lengthwise spine labels printed in red.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1968 Black Sparrow edition. The 75 signed and numbered hardbound copies are the premium state; among wrappered copies the earliest 'Sreet' misprint state precedes the corrected label.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *At Terror Street and Agony Way* by Charles Bukowski a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/at-terror-street-and-agony-way
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.