An online collection of books and ephemera
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. England, England. London: Jonathan Cape, 1998. Pp. 270. 21.6 x 13.4 cm.
Uncorrected Proof of Julian Barnes’s novel England, England in colored card wraps with white lettering. ‘A JONATHAN CAPE UNCORRECTED PROOF’ along bottom of front cover. Publication information along bottom of back panel with a provisional publication date of 3 September 1998.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Pp. 163 + [5]. 19 x 13.4 cm.
Covered in blue paper cover with provisional publication date of “11 October 2011” printed to front and promotional information printed to back. Stated first printing of 60,000 copies. Preliminary dust jacket design included as part of the bound proof.
Original publication was set for January 2012, but the October date was selected to capitalize on the novel’s inclusion on the short list for the Man Booker Prize, which it was later awarded.
Notes on this edition: Dan Kavanagh. Putting the Boot In. London: Jonathan Cape, 1985. Pp. 192. 19.7 x 12.9 cm. Uncorrected Proof in red wraps with black lettering. Provisional publication date listed as “29 August 1985”.
In 1985, Jonathan Cape published Julian Barnes’s third crime novel under the pseudonym of Dan Kavanagh. The novel’s plot centered on misdeeds related to a English Football Club. While Duffy and Fiddle City were eventually published in the U.S. as paperbacks, Putting the Boot In was not optioned for U.S. publication.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Love, etc. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Pp. 224 + [8]. 21.2 x 14.4 cm.
Uncorrected Proof in red wraps with black lettering. Publication information and the statement, ‘THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED PROOF’ on bottom of upper panel. Title listed as, ‘Love, Etc.’ [full stop].
Alfred A. Knopf published two editions of the uncorrected proof for Julian Barnes’s novel Love, etc. The first proof was bound in red wraps, as pictured above, and appears to have been limited in its distribution. The more commonly distributed uncorrected proof features a paper cover that reproduces the colors and layout of the final hardback edition.
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: 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: 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 about this edition: Julian Barnes. Metroland. London: Jonathan Cape, 1980. Pp. 176. 19.8 x 13 cm.
Uncorrected Proof of the first U.K. edition published by Jonathan Cape. Published in red wraps with black lettering.
From Conversations with Julian Barnes (Univ Press of Mississippi, 2009):
Roberts: In the past you’ve mentioned, at least to me, that with Metroland you edited almost to the point of penalty on the proofs.
Barnes: I did, yes. I had to pay them some money. Not much, but a small punishment for being obsessional.
Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Flaubert’s Parrot. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. Pp. 190 + [2]. 21 x 13.5 cm.
Uncorrected Proof of the first U.S. edition of Julian Barnes’s novel Flaubert’s Parrot published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1985. Covered in green wraps with black lettering.
Presented here are two versions of the Knopf proof. The first copy was the top proof on the cart of text blocks upon which the cover color was written. The cover has the initials “P.C.” for “Press Copy” and the inside text block is marked “Press Copy Truck” with the cover color indicated as “Spring Green (114)”. This particular copy was acquired by the press operator prior to forwarding the remaining proof copies to the publisher for distribution to reviewers.
The second copy of this proof contains the provisional publication date of “March 8, 1985” with the “8” hand-written by the publisher. Stapled to the inside cover are two sheets of promotional material. This proof represents the typical state in which a copy would be forwarded to reviewers for consideration.
Also note that on one of the promotional sheets, the publisher corrected an error in which the main character of Flaubert’s Parrot, Geoffrey Braithwaite, was listed as “Charles Braithwaite”, suggesting a temporary blurring of the main male characters in Barnes’s novel and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary [i.e. Charles Bovary].