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JOYCE, James. Ulysses, in: The Little Review. New York: The Little Review, 1918-1921, vol. 'V' [i.e. IV], no.11-vol. VII, no. 4.

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JOYCE, James. Ulysses, in: The Little Review. New York: The Little Review, 1918-1921, vol. 'V' [i.e. IV], no.11-vol. VII, no. 4.

24 issues, bound in 2 volumes, 8° (208 x 138mm). Half-tone plates, some mounted, illustrations in the text. (Occasional light marking, some variable light browning, occasional short tears, VI/5 lacking final 2 ll.) Later brown cloth, spines lettered in gilt (splits on volume hinges, a few wrappers with short, skilfully-repaired tears, 'V'/11 with upper wrapper partially detached and repaired, 'V'/11, VII/2 and VII/3 lacking lower wrappers.) Provenance: Philip C. Duschnes (loosely-inserted bookseller's description).

FIRST EDITIONS. THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF ULYSSES IN PRINT, containing episodes 1 to 13 and part of the 14th of the 18 episodes of the work. In the Autumn of 1917 Joyce felt that Ulysses was approaching completion and was ready for serialisation, and, through the agency of Ezra Pound, The Little Review agreed to undertake the publication of the novel. The first instalment appeared in March 1918, but quickly attracted the attention of the American authorities and the threat of prosecution by the United States Post Office became increasingly imminent. First the January 1919 issue was confiscated, and then the May 1919 issue; in the following year the January 1920 issue was confiscated and then, after an official complaint was lodged by John S. Sumner (secretary of the New York Society for the Prevention of Vice) in September 1920, the July/August 1920 issue was confiscated. Following confiscation, these issues were burnt, prompting Joyce to write to Harriet Shaw Weaver, 'This is the second time I have had the pleasure of being burned while on earth [cf. lot 715, Gas from a Burner] so I hope I shall pass through the fires of purgatory as quickly as my patron S. Aloysius' (Selected Letters (London: 1976), p.249). The publishers of The Little Review were convicted of publishing obscenity in February 1921, and no more episodes were published by the magazine. Due to censorship, sets of the issues containing Ulysses are uncommon on the market; only 3 are recorded at auction since 1975 by ABPC. The present set also includes vol. VII, no. 4, which contains Margaret Anderson's '"Ulysses" in Court' and a message of support to the publishers from Harriet Monroe. In this set, issues IV/11 to V/2 are misnumbered V/11; V/12; VI/1; VI/2, and the remainder are correctly numbered. Loosely inserted is a broadsheet, 12° offprint of 'R.H.C.' [i.e. A.R. Orage's] 'Readers and Writers', from: The New Age (London: 28 April 1921), condemning the censorship of The Little Review's serialisation of Ulysses. Slocum and Cahoon Joyce C53; cf. Published in Paris p.415. (2)
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