Joyce, James

4to, FIRST EDITION, number 297 of 750 numbered copies on handmade paper, PARTIALLY UNOPENED, rebound by Brockman bookbinders in green Harmatan goatskin with red morocco onlays, tooled and letters in three shades of gold and palladium leaf with stainless steel bosses, new black marbled paper endleaves, all edges gilt, Binder's note signed by James and Stuart Brockman tipped in at the end, preserved in specially made velvet lined, quarter black morocco folding box, very minor slight browning to preliminaries, touch of offsetting to pp. 82-83

Slocum & Cahoon A17

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

FIRST EDITION OF "ULYSSES", ARGUABLY THE GREATEST OF ALL TWENTIETH-CENTURY NOVELS, IN A BEAUTIFUL DESIGNER BINDING BY THE BROCKMANS. The binding has recently been highlighted on the binders' own website, see http://brockmanbookbinders.org/content/fine-bindings/. The central eighteen red onlays represent the movements of the central character Leopold Bloom across Dublin on 16 June 1904, the day of the action of the novel (with larger allusions perhaps to the wanderings of Odysseus in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey), with the stainless steel bosses representing with twelve hours of the story and the doors on the spine representing the beginning and close of the day. The tooled areas in this splendid binding were achieved with a specially made 18 segment finishing tool used with three shades of gold and palladium leaf.

According to Laura Barnes' census, based on the publisher Sylvia Beach's own notebooks and Howard Woolmer's earlier census of the 1/100 issue, copy no.297 was acquired by "Miss Barney" (see catalogue James Joyce: Books & Manuscripts, Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, New York, 1996). Copies of the 1/750 issue were the first to arrive in Paris by rail-express from the printer Darantière on 2nd February 1922, in time for Joyce's birthday.