James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography

THE CERTAIN HOUR (Dizain des Poëtes)

Hall Code
Description
CH-B1 (E)
First English Printing 1917

IMAGES:

bindingbooksrectodedication

 

 

 

 

 

dustjacket

 

 

 

 

 

COMPILATION

Full Title:

Title page recto: THE | CERTAIN HOUR | [in italic] (Dizain des Poëtes) | By | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | "Criticism, whatever may be its pretensions, never | does more than to define the impression which | is made upon it at a certain moment by a work | wherein the writer himself noted the impression | of the world which he received at a certain hour." | McBRIDE, NAST & COMPANY | 1917 (verso blank) (see image above).

The title page is a cancel pasted to the verso of the half-title.

Publication:

London, Autumn, 1916 (issue date per Guy Holt; issued from imported sheets with cancel title page).

Collation:

Crown octavo [20 cm. (7 ⅞ in.) x 12.7 cm. (5 in.)]; pp. 256 (first 8 un-numbered); (1) half title, (2) Books by Mr. Cabell; (3) title page (cancel) (verso blank); (5) Dedication (verso blank); (7) Contents (verso blank); pp. 9-253 text; pp. (254-256) are blank; pp. (11), (35), (61), (85), (105), (125), (147), (169), (189), (209), and (233) are fly titles.

Binding:

Green cloth; gilt lettering; all edges trimmed. Spine: THE | CERTAIN | HOUR | CABELL | McBRIDE | NAST & Co. Front cover blank (see image above).

Dedication:

TO | ROBERT GAMBLE CABELL II | [in italic] In Dedication of The Certain Hour | sixteen line dedicatory verse in four quatrains (see image above).

Dust jacket:

Plain yellow paper printed in black (see image above).

Spine: THE | CERTAIN | HOUR | CABELL | 5/- | NET | [McBride-Nast logo]

Front Panel: THE | CERTAIN HOUR | [in italic] by | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [in italic] Author of | "THE RIVET IN GRANDFATHER'S NECK" | &c., &c. | [9 line blurb] | PRICE 5/- NET

Rear Panel: THE RIVET IN | GRANDFATHER'S | NECK | By JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [3 short quotes from newspaper reviews of Rivet] | PRICE 6/- NET | McBRIDE, NAST & CO., LTD., | Rolls House, Breams Buildings, | London, E.C.

Front and rear flaps: blank.

Notes:

The quotation on the title page is by Jules Lemaître, quoted in French Maxims of Letters, translated and edited by Henri Pène du Bois, published by Bretanos, New York, 1894.

The first printing was of 1150 copies. This first English issue comprised a small number of copies of this printing issued by McBride-Nast in London in late 1916.