James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography
JURGEN: A Comedy of Justice
JÜRGEN: Eine Komödie um die Gerechtigkeit
Hall Code |
Description |
Jur-Ger-1 |
German Translation 1928 |
COMPILATION
Full Title:
Title page recto: JAMES BRANCH CABELL | Jürgen | Eine Komödie | um die Gerechtigkeit | Übertragen von Karl Lerbs | [double rule]| Im Insel-Verlag zu Leipzig | 1928 (verso blank, see image above).
Publication:
Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1928
Collation:
Crown octavo [19.5 cm. (7 11/16 in.) x 12.7 cm. (5 in.)]. Pp. 404; (1) Insel-Verlag "ship" logo (verso blank); (3) title page (verso blank); (5) verse (verso blank); 7-(403) text; (404) colophon.
Binding:
Green cloth; gilt lettering and gilt and black decorations on spine and front cover; all edges trimmed. Spine: [vertical gilt rules on left and right sides, running the entire length of the spine] [black rule, gilt rule] | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, row of 13 gilt stars] | CABELL | [ in fräktur] Jürgen | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, single wavy gilt rule] | [black rule, gilt rule] | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, row of 13 gilt stars] | [black rule, gilt rule] | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, single wavy gilt rule] | [black rule, gilt rule] | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, row of 13 gilt stars] | [6 gilt rules, 6 black rules, single wavy gilt rule] | [black rule, gilt rule]. Front cover: JAMES | BRANCH CABELL |[ in fräktur] Jürgen (see image above).
Dedication:
Originally dedicated to Burton Rascoe, but the dedication is not present in this edition.
Colophon:
[rule] Druck der Rossberg'schen | Buchdruckerei in Leipzig | [rule] (see image above).
Dust jacket:
White paper, lettering in black (title in red on front panel), decorations in red and black (see image above).
Spine: [decorated red rule] | Cabell | [rule] | [ in fräktur] Jürgen |[ in fräktur] Insel-Verlag | [decorated red rule]
Front panel: [all enclosed in a decorated red rule] JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [all following in fräktur] [in red] Jürgen | Eine Komödie um die Gerechtigkeit | Roman | [15-line biography of Mr. Cabell] | [rule] | Im Insel-Verlag zu Leipzig
Rear panel: [all enclosed in a decorated red rule] NEUE ENGLISCHE ROMANE | [blurbs for three novels by Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence, in fräktur except for authors' names] | INSEL-VERLAG ZU LEIPZIG
Front flap: [in fräktur, 30-line translation of an article on Mr. Cabell by Hugh Walpole] | [double rule] | INSEL-VERLAG
Rear flap: [two quotes from reviews of a novel by Leonhard Frank, in fräktur except for author's name] | [double rule] | INSEL-VERLAG
The small magazine at left, Das Inselschiff: Eine Zeitschrift für die Freunde des Insel-Verlages [The Island Ship: A Magazine for the Friends of Island Publishers], was the house organ of Insel-Verlag (Island Publishers), who issued this translation of Jurgen. Insel-Verlag published excerpts from their current and future offerings in Das Inselschiff, hopefully enticing readers to buy the books they displayed. The little magazine had a far greater reach than just advertising, though: at the time it was considered a significant literary magazine and had a wide circulation. This issue, for Christmas 1928, includes Chapter 42 of Jurgen, "Kompromisse in himmel" ("Compromises in Heaven").
Hall does not mention binding variations for this edition, but we have observed two bindings - one in green cloth and one in ivory cloth. The two states are almost identical except for binding color, but we note that the green cloth version has its bindingprinted in gilt and has slightly more elaborate decorations. For this reason, and without any information on precedence, we have adopted Hall's Jur-Ger-1 code for the green binding, and designated *Jur-Ger-1a for the ivory one.
The copy of Jur-Ger-A1 shown here is Mr. Cabell's personal copy of this printing, now in the Cabell Room in the James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
