James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography

JURGEN: A Comedy of Justice

Hall Code
Description
*Jur-D2a (E)
Second English Unillustrated Printing, Variant Binding 1923

IMAGES:

bindingbooksrecto

 

 

 

 

 

versodedication

 

 

 

 

 

COMPILATION

Full Title:

Title page recto: JURGEN | A COMEDY OF JUSTICE | BY JAMES BRANCH CABELL | WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HUGH WALPOLE [two fleurons] | | [Next five lines in italics] "Of JURGEN eke they maken mencioun, | That of an old wyf gat his youthe agoon, | And gat himself a shirte as bright as fire | Wherein to jape, yet gat not his desire | In any countrie ne condicioun." | JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LIMITED | LONDON (four fleurons) (see image above).

Title page verso: [in italic] Limited Illustrated Edition November, 1921 | Unillustrated Edition January 1923 | Reprinted March 1923 | Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Bungay, Suffolk. (see image above).

Publication:

London: John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd., 1923

Collation:

Crown octavo [19.4 cm. (7⅝ in.) x 13.7 cm. (5⅜ in.)]; 1 blank leaf + xvi + 334 pp.; 1 blank leaf (not counted in pagination); (i) half-title; (ii) BY THE SAME AUTHOR; (iii) title page; (iv) publication data; (v) dedication; (vi) quotations; vii-viii Introduction by Hugh Walpole; ix-x Contents; (xi) A FOREWORD (verso blank); xiii-xv text of foreword (verso blank); (1) fly-title (verso blank); 3-325 text (verso blank); (327-328) Critical opinion of James Branch Cabell; pp. (329-334) Publisher's advertisements.

Binding:

Blue cloth, orange lettering and decorations on cover and spine, top edge trimmed and stained red, else untrimmed. Spine: [decorated rule] | JURGEN | JAMES | BRANCH | CABELL | [decorated rule] | THE BODLEY HEAD. Front cover: [all enclosed in a decorated ruled box] JURGEN | JAMES | BRANCH CABELL (see image above).

This binding, which matches those seen for the other John Lane unillustrated printings, should probably be listed as the primary one for this printing. Hall, though, specifically notes this printing's binding as black with red decorations, and does not list this color combination for the second unillustrated printing. Since he describes the bindings of the other unillustrated printings as blue and orange, we must accept his binding for this printing as valid. In keeping with our policy of not changing Hall's listings without a compelling reason, we are calling this the variant binding. We have not seen the black and red variation Hall describes (see image above).

Dedication:

TO | BURTON RASCOE | [dedication in acrostic verse of three quatrains] (see image above).

Dust jacket:

Not seen.