Month: May 2018

Metroland (St. Martin’s Press, 1980)

Notes on this edition: First American edition – New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980. $10.95.

Descriptive Bibliography: 

Title Page: METROLAND | Julian Barnes | St. Martin’s Press | New York

Copyright Page: © 1980 by Julian Barnes | All Rights Reserved | For information write St. Martin’s Press, Inc. | 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 | Printed in Great Britain | First published in the U.S. in 1980 | Library of Congress Catalog No. 79-3797 | ISBN 0-312-53169-9

Collation: 19.7 x 12.8 cm. Pp. [1-10] 11-72 [73-74] 75-130 [131-132] 133-176. [1]: ‘METROLAND’. [2]: blank. [3]: title page. [4]: copyright page. [5]: ‘To Laurien’. [6]: blank. [7-8]: [contents]. [9]: ‘PART ONE | Metroland (1963) | A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu | Rimbaud’. [10]: blank. 11-72: text. [73]: ‘PART TWO | Paris (1968) | Moi qui ai connu Rimbaud, je sais | qu’il se foutait pas mal si A | était rouge ou vert. Il le voyait | comme ça, mais c’est tout. | Verlaine to Pierre Louÿs’. [74]: blank. 75-130: text. [131]: ‘PART THREE | Metroland II (1977) | Things and actions are what they are, and the | consequences of them will be what they will be; | why then should we desire to be deceived? | Bishop Butler’. [132]: blank. 133-176: text.

General description: Binding 20.5 x 13.5 cm. Blue-grey boards, silver blocked on spine. Grey end-papers. Black dust jacket lettered in silver (title) and white (author), with a photograph of the author by Jerry Bauer on lower panel. Jacket based on the first U.K. edition by Jonathan Cape. 

Variants: Some first editions carry a “B” stamped to the front end page, as pictured.

Review Copy Slips: Review copies for the first American edition of Metroland often included a review slip containing publication details, as pictured.

The Noise of Time (London Review Bookshop, 2016; Limited Edition Full Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. The Noise of Time. London: London Review Bookshop, 2016. Limited Edition Full Leather.

Julian Barnes’s novel The Noise of Time was published in 2016, concurrently with the London Review Bookshop’s limited edition. The edition featured here is one of three hors de commerce copies signed by the author. Outside of this designation on the limitation page, the hors de commerce edition is identical to the full leather copy limited to 25 copies.

The book itself measures 20.6 x 13.7 cm. The slipcase measures 21.3 x 14.2 cm.

From the limitation page:

A special signed limited First Edition of
The Noise of Time
printed on Longan Book Wove 150gsm paper.
Numbers 1 to 75 have been quarter-bound
in Harmatan Yellow 30 Goatskin
with Atlantic Cloth sides and contain one
facsimile page from the author’s notebook.
25 copies (i to xxv), plus three hors de commerce,
have been fully bound in the same leather
and contain a portfolio of six facsimile pages
of early draft passages and notebook entries.

The edition featured here is numbered “Hors Commerce 2/3” and is signed by Julian Barnes to the limitation page. (Note: The image has been modified to remove the name of the recipient to whom Barnes inscribed the book.)

The facsimile page is contained in a paper folder with the following letterpressed to the front:

  1. Notebook entry of possible titles.
  2. Middle-of-the-night jotting from bedside notepad.
  3. Possible epigraphs, neither of them used.
  4. Draft of section when the opening episode returns as a memory in the second part of the novel.
  5. Early draft of opening of first part.
  6. First notes on novel, from notebook.

JULIAN BARNES (c) 2016

Levels of Life (London Review Bookshop, 2013; Limited Edition Full Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Levels of Life. London: London Review Bookshop, 2013. Limited Edition Full Leather. The book itself measures 20.6 x 14.0 cm. The slipcase measures 21.3 x 14.4 cm.

In 2013, the London Review Bookshop issued a limited edition of Julian Barnes’s Levels of Life. One version was quarter-bound in leather (35 copies), another was full leather (15 copies), and a special hors série edition identical to the full leather version was produced for the author and select recipients (unstated on the limitation page, but limited to 3 copies, as noted in the image).

The limitation page of all editions is identical:

A special signed limited first edition of
Levels of Life
of which thirty-five copies have been
quarter-bound in Harmatan fine leather
numbered 1 to 35 and fifteen copies
full-bound in the same leather
numbered I to XV.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and Patrick Roe and produced
by The Fine Book Bindery, Finedon, Northants.

This is number
[# in red followed by Julian Barnes’s signature in black ink]

Note: The limitation page of this example has been digitally altered to remove the personalized inscription from Julian Barnes to the edition’s owner.

Levels of Life (London Review Bookshop, 2013; Limited Edition Quarter Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Levels of Life. London: London Review Bookshop, 2013. Limited Edition Quarter Leather. The book itself measures 20.6 x 14.0 cm. The slipcase measures 21.3 x 14.4 cm.

In 2013, the London Review Bookshop issued a limited edition of Julian Barnes’s Levels of Life. One version was quarter-bound in leather (35 copies), another was full leather (15 copies), and a special hors série edition identical to the full leather version was produced for the author and select recipients (unstated on the limitation page, but limited to 3 copies).

The limitation page of all editions is identical, excepting the numbering:

A special signed limited first edition of
Levels of Life
of which thirty-five copies have been
quarter-bound in Harmatan fine leather
numbered 1 to 35 and fifteen copies
full-bound in the same leather
numbered I to XV.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and Patrick Roe and produced
by The Fine Book Bindery, Finedon, Northants.

This is number
[# in red followed by Julian Barnes’s signature in black ink]

Note: The limitation page of this example has been digitally altered to remove the personalized inscription from Julian Barnes to the edition’s owner.

The Sense of an Ending (London Review Bookshop, 2011; Limited Edition Full Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending. London: London Review Bookshop, 2011. Limited Edition Full Leather. The book itself measures 20.6 x 13.8 cm. The slipcase measures 21.5 x 14.2 cm.

In 2011, the London Review Bookshop issued two limited editions of Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending, one quarter-bound in leather (75 copies) and one full leather (25 copies). The text block of both editions is tinted green, as pictured.

The limitation page of both editions are identical:

A special signed limited First Edition of
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
comprising 100 copies housed in a cloth slipcase
of which 25 have been full bound in leather
numbered I to XXV and 75 quarter bound in the
same leather with cloth sides, numbered 1 to 75.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and the books have been bound by
The Fine Book Bindery, Finedon, Northants, under
the direction of Patrick Roe.

This is number
[# and signature by Julian Barnes]

Note: The limitation page of this example has been cropped to remove the personalized inscription from Julian Barnes to the edition’s owner.

The Sense of an Ending (London Review Bookshop, 2011; Limited Edition Quarter Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending. London: London Review Bookshop, 2011. Limited Edition Quarter Leather. The book itself measures 20.6 x 13.8 cm. The slipcase measures 21.5 x 14.2 cm.

In 2011, the London Review Bookshop issued two limited editions of Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending, one quarter-bound in leather (75 copies) and one full leather (25 copies). The text block of both editions is tinted green, as pictured.

The limitation page of both editions are identical:

A special signed limited First Edition of
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
comprising 100 copies housed in a cloth slipcase
of which 25 have been full bound in leather
numbered I to XXV and 75 quarter bound in the
same leather with cloth sides, numbered 1 to 75.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and the books have been bound by
The Fine Book Bindery, Finedon, Northants, under
the direction of Patrick Roe.

This is number
[# and signature by Julian Barnes]

Note: The limitation page of this example has been digitally altered to remove the personalized inscription from Julian Barnes to the edition’s owner.

Nothing to be Frightened of (London Review Bookshop, 2008; Limited Edition Full Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Nothing to be Frightened of. London: London Review Bookshop, 2008. Limited edition bound in full leather and signed by the author. The book itself measures 22.2 x 14.2 cm. The solander box measures 24.5 x 16 cm.

In 2008, the London Review Bookshop issued two limited editions of Julian Barnes’s Nothing to be Frightened of, one quarter-bound in leather (100 copies) and one full leather (25 copies). The text block of both editions is tinted blue, as pictured.

The limitation page of both editions are identical:

A special signed limited First Edition of
Nothing to be Frightened of, comprising 125 copies,
of which one hundred have been quarter-bound
in Harmatan fine grain leather (Crimson 21)
with patterned boards designed by Enid Marx
(© Judd Street Gallery 1988), housed in a cloth
slipcase and numbered 1-100 and twenty-five
fully bound in the same leather, housed in
a solander box and numbered I-XXV.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and the books have been bound,
slipcased and boxed by The Fine Book Bindery,
Wellingborough, Northants.

This is number
[# and signature by Julian Barnes]

Nothing to be Frightened of (London Review Bookshop, 2008; Limited Edition Quarter Leather)

Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Nothing to be Frightened of. London: London Review Bookshop, 2008. Limited edition bound in quarter leather and signed by the author. The book itself measures 22.2 x 14.3 cm. The slipcase measures 23.0 x 14.8 cm.

In 2008, the London Review Bookshop issued two limited editions of Julian Barnes’s Nothing to be Frightened of, one quarter-bound in leather (100 copies) and one full leather (25 copies). The text block of both editions is tinted blue, as pictured.

The limitation page of both editions are identical:

A special signed limited First Edition of
Nothing to be Frightened of, comprising 125 copies,
of which one hundred have been quarter-bound
in Harmatan fine grain leather (Crimson 21)
with patterned boards designed by Enid Marx
(© Judd Street Gallery 1988), housed in a cloth
slipcase and numbered 1-100 and twenty-five
fully bound in the same leather, housed in
a solander box and numbered I-XXV.

The bindings have been designed by
Andrew Stilwell and the books have been bound,
slipcased and boxed by The Fine Book Bindery,
Wellingborough, Northants.

This is number
[# and signature by Julian Barnes]

“Homage to Hemingway” (Flip: Dez/10, 2012)

Notes on this edition: “Homage to Hemingway” by Julian Barnes. Flip: Dez/10, Brazil: Ministério da Cultura ção Casa Azul, 2012. ISBN: 9788565665018.

The Flip Festival in Paraty, Brazil was co-founded by Liz Calder. This publication celebrates the festival’s 10th anniversary.  Stories are presented in both Portuguese and English. Julian Barnes’s story is on Pp.  44-71. Illustrations by Jeff Fisher.

Contents:

Apresentação = Foreword
A Língua do Futuro = The Language of the Future / Bernardo Carvalho
Farewell to Christopher = Adeus a Christopher / Ian McEwan
O Corte = The Cut / Cristovão Tezza
Homage to Hemingway = Homenagem a Hemingway / Julian Barnes
Flipando na Flip, ou à Procura do Farelo Perdido = Flipping at Flip, or Remembrance of Crumbs Past / Reinaldo Moraes
I Dream of Zenia With the Bright Red Teeth = Sonhando com a Zênia de Dentes Vermelhos e Brilhantes / Margaret Atwood
Flores Secas do Cerrado = Dry Flowers From the Cerrado / Milton Hatoum
The Ultimate Safari = O Safári Perfeito / Nadine Gordimer
Joyce’s Dublin = A Dublin de Joyce / Colm Tóibín
Suli = Suli / Beatriz Bracher.

“Harmony” (Granta 109: Work, 2009)

Notes on this edition: “Harmony” by Julian Barnes. London: Granta, 2009. Issue 109 (“Work”). Pp. 97-122. Edited by John Freeman. ISBN: 9781905881130.

Illustration accompanying Barnes’s story by George Butler.

Others authors included in this volume: Daniel Alarcón, Donald Ray Pollock, Steven Hall, Derek Walcott, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann, Kent Haruf, Mikhael Subotzky, Patrick Waterhouse, Brad Watson, Yiyun Li, Aminatta Forna, Jim Crace, Martin Kimani, Peter Stothard, Ruchir Joshi, V. V. Ganeshananthan, Joshua Ferris, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.