Description
First edition, first impression of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, published in 1939.
Octavo, [8], 628pp. Full red cloth, title in gilt on spine. Yellow topstain, untrimmed edges. Stated “First published in MCMXXXIX by Faber and Faber Limited” on title page, no additional printings listed. Solid text block, wear to cloth, mostly along rear cover. Foxing to endpapers, one leaf drawn on with red colored pencil. Previous ownership inscription, dated 1944.
Includes a “Complimentary Copy / Not for Sale” stamp on Page 628. Lacking the publisher’s dust jacket. Housed in a custom red cloth chemise, title in gilt on black label affixed to red morocco spine. A very good copy.
(Slocum & Cahoon A47)
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce was published on May 4, 1939, by Faber and Faber in London and Viking Press in New York. Joyce worked on the novel for over sixteen years, initially publishing excerpts under the working title Work in Progress in various literary journals starting in 1924. Sections appeared in transition, The Criterion, and other outlets, often accompanied by commentary from fellow writers. The final book, a dense and experimental text, was typeset and printed in France due to its complex typography and Joyce’s publishing relationships. It was his last major work, released just two years before his death.
