Cross Channel | 50th Birthday Edition (Jonathan Cape, 1996)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel: Stories. London: Jonathan Cape, 1996. Pp. 211 + [7].

Special limited edition of fifty (50) copies in celebration of Julian Barnes’s fiftieth birthday.

The text block is identical to the first Jonathan Cape edition, except that the title page features Julian Barnes’s signature and limitation numbering in his hand. Also contains a four page signature tipped in to the front, the first sheet glued to a blue marbled endpaper (pictured). Another four page signature tipped in back, the last sheet glued to a blue marbled endpaper.

Text block: 20.0 x 13.6 cm. Binding: 21.3 x 14.4 cm. First edition sheets with gilt edges, bound in dark blue leather with marbled endpapers. Gold embossed on the front: ‘A SPECIAL EDITION / TO CELEBRATE JULIAN BARNES’S / FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY’. 

Also included with this example is a single sheet invitation from the Directors of Jonathan Cape to a special birthday dinner celebrating the author’s birthday.

The photos below are from the author’s personal copy of this limited edition. Included inside the book is a postcard related to Barnes’s short story “Evermore”.