Books

First edition, number 825 of 750 copies on handmade paper numbered 251 to 1,000. Sylvia Beach's notebook records that this copy was one of two dozen sold to "Miss Weaver (on sale)". Harriet Shaw Weaver was Joyce's indispensable patron, without whose munificent backing Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake might never have been published. As a measure of Weaver's paramount importance to Joyce, he inscribed copy number 1 of Ulysses to her. Ulysses was published in imitation of the traditional three-tiered French format aimed at both connoisseurs and readers: 100 signed copies on Dutch handmade paper; 150 large-paper copies printed on heavier vergé d'Arches, and 750 copies on vergé à barbes forming the smaller trade issue. The novel was published on 2 February 1922. Widely recognized as the key book of 20th-century English literature, Ulysses is among the major works in the modernist canon, and its creator one of the great geniuses of all literature: "Joyce, not to mince words, is Ireland's Shakespeare, its Goethe, its Racine, its Tolstoy" (John Sutherland). The book also proved to be a major test case for laws of freedom of expression. "Forced underground by censors... this was a cryptoclassic already before it was read, a subversive colossus" (Norman Sherry, James Joyce, Ulysses, 2nd edition). Small quarto. Original blue wrappers, titles to cover in white. Housed in a dark blue leather backed bookform box. Mild rubbing to extremities with some loss to wrappers around spine corners, some light soiling but the whole still fresh and attractive, and entirely untouched by restoration, very few trivial spots within, a very good copy indeed. Pencil ownership inscription to first blank of the veterinarian and James Joyce collector, Alfred T. Cowie (1916-2003), dated 1954. Slocum & Cahoon A17. Horowitz, Census, p. 131.

"Ulysses" is a complex and multi-layered novel that takes place over the course of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland. It follows the lives and experiences of three central characters: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom. Stephen Dedalus is a young aspiring writer and artist, a character partially based on Joyce himself. He struggles with his identity, his relationship with his deceased mother, and his place in the world. Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jewish man, is the novel's central figure. He works as an advertisement canvasser and has a deep affection for his wife, Molly. Throughout the day, Bloom encounters various events and people as he navigates Dublin. His experiences and thoughts are depicted in a stream-of-consciousness narrative style, offering insight into his musings on life, love, and his surroundings. Molly Bloom, Leopold's wife, is introduced in the final episode of the book. Her interior monologue, famously known as the "Penelope" episode, showcases her thoughts, desires, and memories, providing a different perspective on the events of the day. The novel is divided into 18 episodes, each employing a different narrative technique, style, or literary device. Joyce experiments with language, employing puns, allusions, parodies, and various linguistic styles to reflect the characters' thoughts and the vibrant atmosphere of Dublin. "Ulysses" draws heavily on Homer's "The Odyssey," with each episode mirroring an episode in the ancient epic and paralleling the adventures of Odysseus. The title itself references the Latinized name of Odysseus, and the novel explores themes of journey, identity, exile, and the human condition. Throughout the book, Joyce tackles various aspects of human experience, including politics, religion, sexuality, art, mortality, and the mundane details of everyday life. The novel is celebrated for its rich literary innovations, intricate structure, and depth of meaning, but it's also renowned for its challenging and experimental nature, which can make it a demanding read for some audiences.