James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography
FIGURES OF EARTH: A Comedy of Appearances
Hall Code |
Description |
FoE-A1a (K) |
First Printing, Signed |
COMPILATION
Full Title:
Title page recto: [in decorative script] Figures | [within lower part of "g"] of | Earth | [in italic] A Comedy of Appearances | By | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [rule] | [in italic] "Cascun se mir el jove Manuel, | Qu'era del mon lo plus valens dels pros." | [rule] | NEW YORK | ROBERT M. McBRIDE & CO. | 1921 (see image above).
Title page verso: Copyright, 1921, by | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [rule] | [rule] | Copyright 1919, 1920 by The Century Company. | Copyright, 1920, by McClure's Magazine, Inc. | Copyright, 1920, by The Ridgway Company. | [in italic] Printed in the | United States of America | [rule] Published, 1921 (see image above).
Publication:
New York: Robert M. McBride, February, 1921.
Collation:
Crown octavo [20 cm. (7⅞ in.) x 12.7 cm. (5 in.)]; All untrimmed; 2 blank leaves, pp. xvi + 364; p. (i) Half-title; p. (ii) Books by Mr. Cabell; p. (iii) Title page; p. (iv) publication data; p. (v) dedication, verso blank; p. vii-viii Contents; p. (ix) Fly-title, verso blank; pp. xi-xvi A Foreward; pp. (1)-356, text; pp. (357-364) are blank; pp. (1), (85), (141), (211), and (287) are Fly-titles; pp. (84), (140), and (210) are blank.
Binding:
Kalki binding: Brick-red cloth; gilt lettering and decoration on spine and front cover. Spine: FIGURES | OF | EARTH | [rule] | CABELL | McBRIDE. Front cover: Kalki device at lower right (see image above).
Dedication:
[rule] TO SIX MOST GALLANT CHAMPIONS IS DEDICATED | THIS HISTORY OF A CHAMPION: LESS TO REPAY | THAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE LARGE DEBTS TO EACH | OF THEM, COLLECTIVELY AT OUTSET, AS THERE- | AFTER SERIATIM. | [rule] (see image above).
There are additional dedications for each of the six books on the Fly-titles.
Dust jacket:
White paper lettered in black (see image above).
Front panel: FIGURES | OF EARTH | [first word in italic] By JAMES BRANCH CABELL | 18-line sales puff in two paragraphs | [double rule] ROBERT M. McBRIDE & CO. | [in italic] SEVEN WEST SIXTEENTH STREET [two devices of five dots each] NEW YORK
Spine: FIGURES | OF | EARTH | [rule] | JAMES | BRANCH | CABELL | [McBride Liberty Bell device] | McBride
Rear panel: The Books of James Branch Cabell | [double rule] | 13 titles listed | [in italic] At all Bookstores | [double rule] | ROBERT M. McBRIDE & CO., [in italic] Publishers | [in italic] SEVEN WEST SIXTEENTH STREET [two devices of five dots each] NEW YORK
Front flap: $2.50 Net
Rear flap: blank
Notes:
This signed issue consisted of twenty-five copies of the first printing, completely untrimmed, with Cabell's signature on the dedication page. Hall states that these copies were slightly taller because the pages were untrimmed. However, The Silver Stallion has examined two of the twenty-five copies, and both of these are exactly the same height (20 cm.) as the ordinary issue. In the comparison photos shown above, the ordinary issue is on the left, with the signed issue at right. It's possible, of course, that some of the signed copies were in taller bindings, but until this is demonstrated we are assuming that Hall was mistaken and that all of the copies are the same height.
