Faulkner, William

His works, specially bound at his direction for Jill Faulkner.  New York and London, 1926–1962

25 volumes, 8vo (various sizes).  Uniformly bound in blue morocco by Maupin, spines gilt-lettered and with raised bands, gilt supralibros of Jill Faulkner in the lower right corner of the front cover of each volume, 5 volumes with top edges gilt, marbled endpapers; spines darkened, some wear, small nick to upper raised band of Go Down, Moses.

Blotner, Faulkner: A Biography, p. 594

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"To my dear daughter. Pappy. Xmas 1953."  William Faulkner's Christmas gift to Jill Faulkner, 19 of the volumes inscribed on a front flyleaf and signed on the title, some with additional signatures.  According to Joseph Blotner, Faulkner prepared this set of his works to give to Jill as a present to commemorate her first Christmas as a married woman in her own home in Charlottesville, Virginia.  The inscriptions in the first 18 volumes, however, are dated "Xmas 1953."  Jill was not married until 1954 and Christmas of that year was her first in Virginia.  Also, the supralibros reads simply "Jill Faulkner" and not "Jill Faulkner Summers."  A Fable and The Faulkner Reader, both published in 1954, are inscribed "Xmas 1953," so it is likely that Faulkner may have made the same mistake on all 18 inscriptions.  With Jill settled in Charlottesville, Estelle spent Christmas of 1954 in the Philippines with daughter Victoria and her husband.  Faulkner went to Princeton and marked his favorite holiday of the year with editor Saxe Commins and his wife before celebrating New Year's Eve with Jean Stein in New York, as he prepared to cover a hockey game at Madison Square Garden for Sports Illustrated.

The six remaining volumes of the set were added as they were published.  Of those, only the last, The Reivers, is inscribed and signed less than one month before Faulkner's death on 6 July 1962.  Random House undertook finding a binder and having the books bound to the author's specifications and returning them to him for inscribing. 

The set consists of first editions, first British editions, Modern Library editions and later printings.  Mosquitoes may have been Faulkner's own copy—it bears his signature and the date "9 May 1927" on the half-title.  The novel had been published nine days earlier.

The first eighteen volumes are all inscribed "To my dear daughter. Pappy. Xmas 1953" on a front flyleaf and signed "William Faulkner" on the title-page.  Additional inscriptions and signatures noted below.

Soldiers' Pay.  1926.  Also signed on the half-title — Mosquitoes.  1927.  Also signed and dated on the half-title "William Faulkner. 9 May 1927" — Sanctuary.  1932.  Modern Library edition — A Green Bough.  1933 — Pylon.  1935.  First British edition — The Unvanquished.  1938.  First British edition — The Wild Palms.  1935.  Fifth printing — The Hamlet.  1940 — Go Down, Moses.  1942.  Third printing — The Sound and the Fury & As I Lay Dying.  With a new appendix as a foreword by the author.  1946.  Modern Library edition — Intruder in the Dust. 1948.  Also signed on the front flyleaf following the flyleaf with the Christmas inscription — Knight's Gambit.  1949 — Light in August.  1950.  Modern Library edition — Collected Stories.  1950.  Title signed "William Faulkner.  Oxford Miss." — Absalom, Absalom!  1951.  Modern Library edition — Requiem for a Nun.  1951 — Sartoris.  1951.  Later printing — A Fable.  1954.  Dedicatee's copy  — The Faulkner Reader.  1954.

The following volumes were rebound and added to the collection as they were published.  Only the final volume bears inscriptions.

Big Woods.  1955 — The Town.  1957 — Sanctuary.  1958.  Later printing — The Mansion.  1959 — Selected Short Stories.  1961 — The Reivers.  1962.  Front flyleaf inscribed "To my dearest daughter. Pappy" and title-page signed and dated "William Faulkner.  Oxford Miss.  12 June 1962.

Jill Faulkner Summers's collection of her father's works, perhaps the most important and poignant signed Faulkner editions ever to appear at auction.