James Joyce | Ulysses, Paris, 1922, first edition, one of 750 copies

James Joyce

Ulysses. Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1922

FIRST EDITION, COPY NUMBER 512 OF 750 COPIES ON HANDMADE PAPER, 4to (236 x 187 mm), publisher's blue wrappers, front cover printed in white, some leaves uncut, housed in blue cloth slipcase, spine crudely repaired, some loss to upper corner of upper wrapper

"Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes".

FIRST EDITION OF ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL NOVEL OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, one of 750 copies on handmade paper (of a whole edition of 1,000). This is in fact the earliest issue of the novel: the official date of publication for Ulysses was Joyce's birthday, 2 February 1922, but difficulties with producing the cover meant that in fact only two copies, both from the 750-copy issue, were actually ready that day. No further copies of any issue of Ulysses appeared from the printer, Darantière, until 9 February, when a further batch of the 750 arrived. These were followed, on 13 February, by the first of the 100-copy issue signed by Joyce and, on 4 March, by the 150-copy issue on larger vergé d'Arches paper. It is now thought that this reflects the order in which Ulysses was actually printed, giving the edition of 750 a certain priority over the other issues, despite its higher numerical sequence.

LITERATURE:

Slocum & Cahoon A17