Click for full-size.
Tropic of Capricorn
by MILLER, Henry
- Used
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Winchester, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Paris: The Obelisk Press, 1939. First Edition. Octavo. Original publisher's wrappers printed in red and black; 367pp. Neat ownership signature to front endpaper ("S. Lewis Rand / Paris / 1945"). Price elided on front flap, with new price stamped on spine (as on most copies); moderate creasing, wear and toning to wrapper edges and spine; small (ca 1/2") triangular chip to base of rear cover; just Very Good. In custom cloth slipcase. The third volume in Miller's renowned Obelisk Trilogy, which included Tropic of Cancer (1934) and Black Spring (1936). Like all of Miller's collaborations with Jack Kahane's Obelisk Press, this is a fragile book, rarely found in good condition; the present example shows ample evidence of use, but is still a presentable and complete copy.
Synopsis
Like his previous work, Tropic of Cancer , Henry Miller's Tropic of Capricorn stayed banned in the U.S. until 1961. Written with a similar style and theme, the book details and to some extent parodies Miller's experiences working for Western Union, referring to the company throughout the book as the “Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company.” In Capricorn , Miller expounded on his travails as a struggling writer in New York in the 1920s, and with his troubled marriage. The book was published by Obelisk Press in Paris in 1939. The first U.S. Edition was printed by Grove Press in 1961, and signed copies of this book are also sought after, due to the lawsuit and controversy surrounding its publication. The trilogy itself represents a significant challenge to traditional literary forms, and Miller's appeal to counter-culture continues to attract new collectors. The final book in Miller's Obelisk Trilogy , it was followed by Black Spring in 1938, a collection of shorter stories related to the series, and Tropic of Capricorn in 1939, another stream-of-consciousness account of the author's struggles in New York in the 1920s. Flaws in the first Paris edition (printed in English) commonly include a damaged or missing spine. Wear to the cover and boards, and chips and unevenness to the page edges are also common. Signed copies of this work in good condition are often sold for over $1,000. The first U.S. Edition is of higher quality, and features gilt lettering on the title pages, and marbled paper boards. Less commonly seen errors for this edition include soiling and damage to the edges, folded corners of pages, and slight loosening of the boards and binding.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Lorne Bair Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 17048
- Title
- Tropic of Capricorn
- Author
- MILLER, Henry
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- The Obelisk Press
- Place of Publication
- Paris
- Date Published
- 1939
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern Fiction;
Terms of Sale
Lorne Bair Rare Books
All items are offered subject to prior sale. Orders must be prepaid, though billing may be arranged for institutions and customers with established credit. Payment may be made by Check, Money Order, Paypal or by valid credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover). Any item may be returned within 10 days of receipt for full refund. Signed and manuscript items carry an unlimited guarantee of authenticity.
About the Seller
Lorne Bair Rare Books
Biblio member since 2006
Winchester, Virginia
About Lorne Bair Rare Books
Lorne Bair Rare Books specializes in books, mansuscripts, and printed ephemera relating to American Social History, with an emphasis on radical and utopian movements of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. We are available in our showroom by appointment, at shows, and on-line through various booksellers' sites or at our website www.lornebair.com.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting the 1939 New York World’s Fair
Born in the midst of the Great Depression, the theme of the 1939 World’s Fair was “The World of Tomorrow” - a theme that captured the hearts of a generation. Check out the maps, souvenirs, and other ephemera on Biblio!
Vertigo Comics
Vertigo Comics, an imprint of DC Comics, is being retired in 2020 after a 27 year run of groundbreaking comics. The imprint was DC’s home for mature tales that were often horror-themed or otherwise dark in nature. Learn more about Vertigo, home of V for Vendetta, Sandman, and Fables.
