There’s No Business — 1984 Black Sparrow Broadside Flyer #12 | Bukowski x R. Crumb

Description

A broadside is one of the oldest forms of printed ephemera—a single sheet of paper printed on one side, historically used for proclamations, ballads, or polemics. In literary circles, broadsides became a favored format for small presses to showcase a short poem, story, or announcement—part collectible artwork, part literary artifact. They’re often printed in limited runs and can feature striking typographic or illustrative work. In the case of presses like Black Sparrow, a broadside might function as both advertisement and standalone object of aesthetic and bibliographic interest.

This Black Sparrow Press broadside (Flyer No. 12) was issued in 1984 to promote There’s No Business, a new Bukowski short story illustrated by the legendary R. Crumb. Set in lurid pink with bold Crumb artwork and a mock-serious tone, the flyer is as much a cultural relic as it is an advertisement. With digs at “hoi polloi,” the “middle class,” and “the newly affluent,” it captures John (or maybe Barbara’s?) Matin’s humor, Bukowski’s punch-drunk swagger and Crumb’s underground visual wit. It’s a rare and iconic pairing—on paper and in spirit.

File this under peak Bukowski, peak Crumb—one page, three price points, and a shot of ’80s small press bravado. If you haven’t done so already, buy this and lay it into your signed copy!