# Is "Hot Water Music" by Charles Bukowski a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hot Water Music by Charles Bukowski (Black Sparrow Press, 1983) is identified by: Standard Black Sparrow structure: a trade paperback in wrappers (about 750 copies), a trade hardcover in cloth, a signed and numbered limited (about 400 copies in quarter black cloth over printed boards with acetate), and a signed deluxe lettered issue of about 100 copies with an original painting bound in. The 1983 Black Sparrow edition is the true first; the signed numbered and deluxe lettered issues are the premium states.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Story collection
- Standard Black Sparrow structure: a trade paperback in wrappers (about 750 copies), a trade hardcover in cloth, a signed and numbered limited (about 400 copies in quarter black cloth over printed boards with acetate), and a signed deluxe lettered issue of about 100 copies with an original painting bound in
- First-issue points: color title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Black Sparrow Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Bukowski |
| Publisher | Black Sparrow Press |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Story collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Story collection. Standard Black Sparrow structure: a trade paperback in wrappers (about 750 copies), a trade hardcover in cloth, a signed and numbered limited (about 400 copies in quarter black cloth over printed boards with acetate), and a signed deluxe lettered issue of about 100 copies with an original painting bound in. First-issue points: color title page and no later-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The 1983 Black Sparrow edition is the true first; the signed numbered and deluxe lettered issues are the premium states.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hot Water Music* by Charles Bukowski a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hot-water-music
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.