An online collection of books and ephemera
Notes on this edition: Als sie mich noch nicht kannte | Before She Met Me. Zürich: Haffmans Verlag, 1988. Pp. 247 [248]. 18.4 x 11.1 cm. Translated by Michael Walter. (German).
The dust jacket of the German translation of Barnes’s second novel Before She Met Me features an illustration by Volker Kriegel. Also in 1988, Bloomsbury published Kriegel’s book The Truth about Dogs, a collection of Kriegel’s humorous drawings of dogs. Julian Barnes wrote an introduction for the book.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Flaubert’s Parrot. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985. Pp. 216. 17.1 x 10.3 cm. ISBN: 0070037485.
Following the critical success of Julian Barnes’s novel Flaubert’s Parrot, McGraw-Hill published a series of small-format paperbacks to promote his backlist. After releasing Flaubert’s Parrot in paperback (1985), McGraw-Hill issued Barnes’s second novel Before She Met Me (1986), followed by Metroland (1987).
Notes on this edition: The London Limited Edition of Staring at the Sun is the first limited edition produced of Julian Barnes’s works. Limited to 150 copies, the text is identical to the first U.K. edition published by Jonathan Cape, except for some preliminary pages, including the limitation signature page.
Descriptive Bibliography: First Limited edition – London: London Limited Editions, 1986. £25.00. 150 copies.
Title Page: As in the first edition hardback published by Jonathan Cape.
Copyright Page: As in the first edition hardback published by Jonathan Cape.
Collation: 21.5 x 13.7 cm. Text identical to the first Jonathan Cape edition, except the front page [i-ii] has been cut and two new sheets tipped in. Sheet One (front): ‘JULIAN BARNES | STARING AT | THE SUN | [asterisk] | LONDON | LIMITED | EDITIONS’. (verso): blank. Sheet Two (front): ‘One of 150 numbered copies of the | First Edition of | Staring at the Sun | signed by the author and | specially bound. | No. [hand numbered] | [author signature]’. (verso): blank.
General description: Binding 22.2 x 14 cm. Marble paper over boards, dark brown cloth quarter binding with glassine dustwrapper. White endpapers.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Pp. 211 + [1]. 19.1 x 13.3 cm.
Uncorrected Proof of the U.S. edition of Cross Channel published by Alfred A. Knopf. Bound in cream paper wraps with black lettering. Publication information and the statement, ‘THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED PROOF’ on bottom of upper panel.
The publisher stapled three promotional items to the inside front cover, including two sheets of paper featuring review blurbs for Talking It Over, Flaubert’s Parrot, and A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, and a sample dust jacket for the first U.S. edition, as pictured.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. Random House Canada, 1996. Pp. 211 + [1]. 19.1 x 13.3 cm.
The Random House Canada uncorrected proof of Julian Barnes’s Cross Channel appears nearly identical to the American uncorrected proof issued by Alfred A. Knopf. The text block is, in fact, identical, as the Canadian proof’s title page lists the publisher as “Alfred A. Knopf”. The two proof editions differ in their paper covers, however, with the Canadian proof listing the publisher as “Random House Canada”. Both proofs list the publication date as “25 March 1996”.
Notes on this edition: Metrolandia | Metroland. Anagrama, 2000. Pp. 236 + [4]. 19.7 x 13 cm. Translated by Enrique Juncosa. ISBN: 8433931636. (Spanish).
Editorial Anagrama publishes Spanish translations of Julian Barnes’s works. This second edition of Metroland was published in June 2000 and features a cover made up of images from the film adaptation released in 1997. Anagrama published the original Spanish translation in 1989. Paper cover, as shown.
Notes on this edition: Uncorrected Proof of Julian Barnes’s second literary novel Before She Met Me bound in red wraps with black lettering. Scheduled publication date of 15th April 1982. (19.5 x 14.3 cm).
Notes on this edition: In 1991, Jonathan Cape reissued Julian Barnes’s novel Before She Met Me in hardback format. The first edition hardback was originally published in 1982, and because Cape did not make changes to the reissued book outside of small changes to the title page, copyright page, and dust jacket, the reissue may be classified technically as as a first edition, second printing.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. 27.9 x 21.5 cm.
Marked as an “Uncorrected Proof”, this galley proof of Julian Barnes’s Cross Channel was intended for in-house use and precedes the standard uncorrected proof normally issued to reviewers. The galley features a white paper cover with black lettering. Pages are reproduced two per sheet with each text line numbered, as pictured in the example images.
Note: Full inscription has been edited for privacy.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes’s first collection of short stories was published in 1996 with the title Cross Channel. The stories center on the relationship between England and France. The photos include a copyright page from the third printing.
Descriptive Bibliography: First edition – London: Jonathan Cape, 1996. £13.99.
Title Page: CROSS CHANNEL | [decorative rule] | JULIAN BARNES | [Jonathan Cape device] | JONATHAN CAPE | LONDON
Copyright Page: First published 1996 | 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 | © Julian Barnes 1996 | Julian Barnes has asserted his right | under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 | to be identified as the author of this work | First published in the United Kingdom in 1996 by | Jonathan Cape | Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA | ‘Interference’, ‘Experiment’ and ‘Evermore’ first appeared in | the New Yorker. ‘Gnossienne’ and ‘Dragons’ were | first published in Granta. | Random House Australia (Pty) Limited | 20 Alfred Street, Milsons Point, Sydney | New South Wales 2061, Australia | Random House New Zealand Limited | 18 Poland Road, Glenfield, | Auckland 10, New Zealand | Random House South Africa (Pty) Limited | PO Box 337, Bergvlei, 2012 South Africa | Random House UK Limited Reg. No. 954009 | A CIP catalogue record for this book | is available from the British Library | Papers used by Random House UK Limited are natural, | recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. | The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental | regulations of the country of origin. | ISBN 0-224-04301-3 | Phototypeset by Intype, London | Printed and bound in Great Britain by | Mackays of Chatham PLC
Collation: 20.2 x 13.6 cm. Pp. [i-viii, 1-2] 3-20 [21-22] 23-42 [43-44] 45-62 [63-64] 65-87 [88-90] 91-111 [112-114] 115-128 [129-130] 131-148 [149-150] 151-164 [165-166] 167-188 [189-190] 191-211 [212-216]. [i]: ‘CROSS CHANNEL | [decorative rule]’. [ii]: ‘BY THE SAME AUTHOR | [decorative rule] | Metroland | Before She Met Me | Flaubert’s Parrot | Staring at the Sun | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters | Talking It Over | The Porcupine | Letters from London 1990–1995’. [iii]: title page. [iv]: copyright page. [v]: ‘TO PAT’. [vi]: blank. [vii]: contents. [viii]: blank. [1]: ‘INTERFERENCE | [decorative rule]’. [2]: blank. 3-20: text. [21]: ‘JUNCTION | [decorative rule]’. [22]: blank. 23-42: text. [43]: ‘EXPERIMENT | [decorative rule]’. [44]: blank. 45-62: text. [63]: ‘MELON | [decorative rule]’. [64]: blank. 65-87: text. [88]: blank. [89]: ‘EVERMORE | [decorative rule]’. [90]: blank. 91-111: text. [112]: blank. [113]: ‘GNOSSIENNE | [decorative rule]’. [114]: blank. 115-128: text. [129]: ‘DRAGONS | [decorative rule]’. [130]: blank. 131-148: text. [149]: ‘BRAMBILLA | [decorative rule]’. [150]: blank. 151-164: text. [165]: ‘HERMITAGE | [decorative rule]’. [166]: blank. 167-188: text. [189]: ‘TUNNEL | [decorative rule]’. [190]: blank. 191-211: text. [212-216]: blank.
General description: Binding 21 x 14.5 cm. Black boards, red blocked on spine. Black endpapers. Dust jacket in red, blue, yellow, and green. Lettered in green and white. Jacket design by Tracey Winwood. Cream jacket flaps lettered in blue, the upper flap bordered in green and the lower flap bordered in yellow. Author photograph by Jillian Edelstein on back flap reproduced in green hues.