James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography
FIGURES OF EARTH: A Comedy of Appearances
Hall Code |
Description |
FoE-B1 (E) |
First English Printing 1922 |
COMPILATION
Full Title:
Title page recto: FIGURES OF EARTH | A Comedy of Appearances | By JAMES BRANCH CABELL | "Cascun se mir el jove Manuel, | Qu'era del mon lo plus valens dels pros." | LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LTD. | VIGO STREET, W. MCMXXI (see image above).
Title page verso: [rule] PRINTED AT THE DEVONSHIRE PRESS, TORQUAY, ENGLAND (see image above).
Publication:
London: John Lane, January 1922. Although the title page states MCMXXI, the publication data given on the title page verso of the second John Lane printing, FoE-B2 (E), states "First British Edition, January, 1922."
Collation:
Crown octavo [19.4 cm. (7⅝ in.) x 18.4 cm. (5¼ in.)]; top edge trimmed and stained blue, else untrimmed. pp. xvi+288. (i) half-title; (ii) BY THE SAME AUTHOR (listing only Jurgen); (iii) title page; (iv) publication data; (v) dedication page (verso blank); vii-viii Contents; (ix) half-title A FOREWORD (verso blank); xi-xv text of Foreword (verso blank); text (1)-288. Pp. (ix), (1), (69), (115), (170), and (233) are fly-titles. Pp. (vi), (x), and (2) are blank.
Binding:
Green cloth, black lettering and decorations on front cover and spine; top edge trimmed and stained blue, else untrimmed. Spine: [decorated rule] | FIGURES | OF EARTH | JAMES | BRANCH | CABELL | [decorated rule] | THE BODLEY HEAD. Front cover: [all enclosed in an elaborately decorated ruled box] FIGURES OF EARTH | JAMES |BRANCH CABELL (see image above).
Dedication:
TO SIX MOST GALLANT CHAMPIONS IS DEDI- | CATED THIS HISTORY OF A CHAMPION: LESS | TO REPAY THAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE LARGE | DEBTS TO EACH OF THEM, COLLECTIVELY AT | OUTSET, AS THEREAFTER SERIATIM. (see image above).
There are additional dedications for each of the six books on the Fly-titles.
Dust jacket:
White paper, front panel in color, otherwise lettering and decorations in black (see image above).
Spine: THE | FIGURES| OF | EARTH | JAMES | BRANCH | CABELL | Author of | "JURGEN," etc. | 8/6 | NET | THE | BODLEY | HEAD
Front panel: [within colored illustration by Frank Papé, grey ground, enclosed in a black single ruled box] [enclosed within a black single ruled box, white ground, black lettering with red edging]
FIGURES | OF EARTH | | [color illustration by Frank C. Papé" , showing Dom Manuel, mounted, in black, followed by Grandfather Death, also mounted, in a semi-cirular fled of yellow and red] |
[all enclosed in a grey panel supported by males figures on either side] [in white] ·MVNDVS VVLT DECIPI· | [enclosed within a black single ruled box, white ground, black lettering with red edging] JAMES BRANCH | CABELL | JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LTD., LONDON, W.1.
Rear panel: [all enclosed in a single ruled box] [advertisements for eleven books by varioua authors, all published by John Lane] | [rule] | JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD LTD., VIGO ST., W.1
Front flap: [all enclosed in a single ruled box] [blurb for Jurgen | [rule] | [blurb for Torquil's Success, by Muriel Hine]
Rear flap:[all enclosed in a single ruled box] [blurb for the Escaping Club, by A. J. Evans]
There is a misprint on the spine of this jacket, where the title is given as The Figures of Earth. It is shown correctly in the front panel.
We have seen a few copies of this printing with "COLONIAL EDITION" rubber stamped in black or purple on the title page verso. "Colonial Editions" have historically been either bound or printed more cheaply than regular editions (cf. John Carter, ABC for Book Collectors, fifth edition, p.63). It's unclear why Lane so stamped copies of the regular editions, but we note that the Lane printings of several Cabell titles have been reported with this stamp. We've heard it suggested that there may have been a tax advantage on exported copies, but this has not been verified.
This was the seond of Mr. Cabell's books to be published by John Lane, following the Papé illustrated edition of Jurgen.
