Folio books collections

My personal goal for a collection of Folio books can now be considered almost complete. The count stands at 295 books (not separating set volumes). The general idea was to collect at least one book published from 1947 until now. The guidelines established were as follows:

1. The work must be an original edition (not a reprint) for the year in question.
2. Works originally in English would have priority. However, translations from Spanish will always be considered.
3. Fiction, theatre, poetry, memoirs and essays that contribute to a deeper understanding of English cultural heritage and values (in the broadest sense) would have priority over other works.
4. These criteria do not apply to the very first book published by the Folio Society (a translation from Russian).
5. A subcollection would be established for Shakespeare's 37 plays (featuring the seven quill design on the cover). In this case reprints of editions would be acceptable.

Anyone interested in more details is welcome to consult my Folio Society tag, where the books are sorted by year of publication.

Thanks for posting.

My personal goal is almost the reverse: I've just joined, and the point is to collect Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin sequence, without straying into other volumes at all, if possible. This presents a challenge unless I purchase from non-FS sources following my first subscription year, though I've read of a few opportunities which may allow that.

I'm curious as to how well I'll resist. Reading of personal goals such as yours really are a temptation.

> 2

Thanks for your comments. Good luck with attaining your personal goal. I think you will indeed find it very difficult not to stray. A whole bunch of enablers in this group!

>1 drasvola:. I'll have to peruse your tagged list. Thanks for the update.

Congratulations Antonio, that is so good to hear. I hope you enjoy your collection as much as we like to hear about it. You do have a wonderful library

Congratulations. I thought I could match you, but I don't have any from 2011! I'll fix that on my next order. I like the way you have used the publication year as well - I never bother to fill that in but it is useful after all.

>1 drasvola:

I've often had a 'scattergun' approach to the books I buy and I admire your discipline when collecting your FS books.

The 'book for every year of the FS' is a great idea and has given you many wonderful books to read and admire.

I enjoyed scrolling through your collection and wish I had taken a similar approach in the past - thanks for sharing it with us.

Thank you all for your kind comments. The truth is that I have benefitted from many ideas and contributions made in the different threads by members of this group. Undoubtedly, there are refinements to introduce and improvements in the comments field to be made. And of course it's an open-ended collection. The pleasure of searching for a title is renewed every time that the perceived need arises. But then, that is the essence of collecting. Thanks again. If any suggestions are forthcoming, please feel free to make them. They would be most welcome.

> 4 You are welcome.

> 5 There's work still to be done and comments to improve. Thank you for your help. Faisel.

> 6 Thanks. I didn't add the year at the beginning, but found out that it was essential in order to keep track of the reprints.

> 7 I appreciate your thoughts on the whole concept. It sort of grew on me. I have to control the urge to keep adding other books on the basis of complementary criteria.

>2 elenchus: At the risk of tempting you from your goal, I'll mention that FS has published a number of non-fiction works that may be of interest to fans of Aubrey-Maturin series including:

The Wooden World by N.A.M Rodger - history of 18th century British Navy. I picked this up during the Spring Sale, but have yet to read it.

Memoirs of a Fighting Captain by Admiral Lord Cochrane - one of the inspirations for Jack Aubrey. Not as compelling a read as O'Brian's works, but it is interesting to see which historical events were borrowed by O'Brian in the plot of his novels, and of course has the usual wonderful illustrations of a FS production. This book has a navy-blue binding very similar to that of the Aubrey-Maturin series, and a pictorial slipcase. Out of print, but used copies can be found on ABE and Amazon.

Another OOP book that I don't yet have, but have been thinking of buying from ABE is Memoirs of a Seafaring Life.

My goal is to collect (and read) the first 100 books published by the FS. I've collected about 60, and read about 6!

> 11

How do you deal with reimpressions? Is your 100th book The Canterbury Tales? I haven't figured out the proportion of TBR books but it must be high since I've incorporated a lot of new additions. Happy collecting!

>12 drasvola:
Going for the first published impression of each edition. In the first 100 there are only two (probably only one) 2nd editions. Using the Folio 60 numbering system 44.5 is another edition of Jorrocks Jaunts and Jollities. I suspect it was never published. The other 2nd ed is 86.5 which is Rupert Brooke Poems (1955). I have that one but will have to track down the 1948 ed sometime.

There are a couple of other books with decimal points (12.5 - The Earliest Chemical Industry and 41.5 - The Art of The Book) which I have. The last book will be The Canterbury Tales (Vol 2) which is number 100 by Folio 60. If I do get the complete series it will be 103 books, assuming that 44.5 does not exist.

> 13

Yes, thank you for your explanation SimB. According to Folio 60 those are the correct descriptions for original and reprint editions. Paul W. Nash is very clear in his introduction on how he established the criteria for description of each edition. It would indeed be interesting (and very fortunate for you) if you were to find 44.5 (an elusive ghost) probably under a pile of used books on some charity sale table... From what I see in Abebooks and ebay, some hard-to-find books are "hidden" in far-away places (from my own perspective) such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Here in far-away Australia, your post has made me check all my Folios to see if they are first impressions or not - with over 750 to check, this will take some time, but so far the results are mixed - some are original, some are later printings or impressions - I am not sure if these terms interchangable or if they mean something specific - I will check in Folio 60 to see if Nash addresses this point.

So I am only on to my second shelf of Folios and one minor issue has emerged. My copy of the Pastons is a second impression of the 1981 edition. In Folio 40 it was given a separate item number to the 1981 edition and the year was given as 1985. In Folio 60 Nash listed it under the 1981 edition and also gave the year as 1985. My copy gives the year as 1984. I am not sure if this is an error or whether the same impression can have different years.

>16 rdurie: It is possible that Nash takes the year that the book was issued as a higher priority to the impression year as stated. If this is the case then the precedent goes back to Folio 21 where Shakespeare's Sonnets has a publication date of 1947, but was not issued until Jan 1948...and is regarded as a 1948 book. Mere speculation of course.

In any case a curiosity...but I wouldn't think that the same impression can have different years (unless the demand for "The Pastons" was so great that presses were running all night on 31st Dec 1984, and into the morning of 1st Jan 1985...LOL)

There is no discipline to my Folio collection. I buy volumes as and when the mood takes me and I shelve them in a random order (but keeping fiction and non-fiction seperate). So far I have about 150 volumes....and rising !

>14 drasvola:
Re 44.5
Talking about not looking in your own backyard!
I have 2 copies of Jorrocks Jaunts and Jollities. The first came without a DJ (although advertised with) and I decided to get one with a DJ. The 2 copies have sat beside each other on the shelf. Nash's sparse description of this "ghost book" in Folio 60 led me to conclude that it probably didn't exist. He does mention a note inserted into FS library copy of the first 1949 ed which notes the existence of the later edition, and an unwrapped dustjacket without the rear advertisement for The Compleat Angler contained on the 1st ed DJ.

In my folly to obtain the first 100 FS books "Hawbuck Grange" arrived a few days ago. This is another Surtees book, but was published in 1955. On it's rear cover was an advertisement for JJ&J, with a price of 25s. That's strange, I thought, I'm sure that the price on the DJ was less than that (sad that I can barely remember my children's birthdays, yet remember the price of a 1949 FS book). Anyway the price on the DJ is 21s. So the ad on "Hawbuck Grange" at least implies that there was a DJ printed with 25s as the price. It would be interesting to know if the stray DJ mentioned for 44.5 in Folio 60 had that price printed.

I decided to compare my two copies of JJ&J. There are definite differences. The colour plates are printed on different thickness paper from one copy to the other, some of the colour plates in one copy are printed on pages shorter than the printed page and the pastedowns are a little different.

Do I have that elusive 44.5? I don't really know. Each book says Folio Society, London, 1949 as its publication date. It could well have been that in 1949 that not all copies had the plates printed on the same paper, and that pastedowns varied from book to book. Still the price differential intrigues me, and implies that at least a new DJ was issued for JJ&J between 1949 and 1955.

I like little mysteries!

This is turning into an interesting question. To quote Mr. Nash, page 33, Introduction, Folio 60:

In some cases it has proved difficult to distinguish between a new impression and a new edition of a particular title... I use the term "impression to cover all printings of type cast from one particular punch-tape, however many times this tape may have been used to cast the type. If the text has been re-entered at the keyboard, and a new tape produced, this creates a new edition. However... I have assumed a new edition only when there are clear and frequent differences in the spacing of words, or when the text itself has been substantially altered.

I can't remember where but, in a thread some time ago, a FS devotee was able to get in touch with Mr. Nash. Perhaps it would be possible to send him a query. It would help for the future Folio bibliography.

> 20

Alas, I think that is unlikely. Mr Nash would feel as if he were putting his head in the lions den. Remember the furore caused by the artificial leather scandal?

>20 drasvola:

I have actually sent Mr Nash an email. His email is not all that hard to track down. If he responds I'll keep you posted!

By that quote it would seem likely that this would be defined as another impression rather than a 2nd ed.

As Nash states in the entry for 44.5 "A typed note.........may be a ghost or a reference to to a second impression"

In any case it's made my pursuit of the first 100 folio books a little bit more interesting!

> 21

I remember, David. But perhaps this time he might be intrigued by the dustcover conditions that SimB describes. It doesn't hurt to ask politely like I'm sure it has been done. BTW, I've missed your posts lately. So glad to hear from you. I have a number of things (books, DVDs) to report on, so I'll be in touch with a pm.

Thank you Antonio. It's good to be back. I have been a little distracted due to heavy work commitments recently. PM me any time.

The 37 volume (plays) that FS published with the seven quill design for the covers is now complete. Here is a picture:

>25 drasvola:

Antonio, those look lovely on your shelf!

Wow, wow, Antonio that looks wonderful. Congratulations!

> 25

They look really nice.

I'm so envious--I want that Shakespeare collection!!!!!

Is there a colour code? I mean: did they bind comedies in red and tragedies in purple?

sorry I need to know!!)

And congratulations.!

Well, thank you everybody! This morning I received Love's Labour's Lost, the last one missing to complete the collection ( I still have to add five plays to the LT catalogue.) I have placed the books with other editions of Shakespeare's works (not with the other FS books). That's because I frequently have to consult translations.

The only definite colour code used that I can determine (since plays can be classified in different ways) is blue for the historical plays (that is the ones with an English monarch in the title). One very nice addition in each volume is the glossary compiled, as far as I can tell, by two ladies: Miss Jean Rook (who did most of the work) and Miss Josephine Lane. The illustrations come for the most part from theatrical productions who had famous directors or were well known, not only in Britain but also in France, Poland and Belgium. Salvador Dalí contributed his work for As You Like It. All in all a fascinating series.

And, I don't enjoy boldface's reported security measures for his Shed, but I believe that the books are fairly safe. If anyone needs any more information, please let me know.

Edited to correct name of one glossary compiler

> 31 "And, I don't enjoy boldface's reported security measures for his Shed, but I believe that the books are fairly safe."

I'm very envious of those books, Antonio! But with a little help from all those others drooling on the sidelines, I have a plan . . .

"Why, as I told thee, 'tis a custom with him,
I' th' afternoon to sleep: there thou mayst brain him,
Having first seized his books, or with a log
Batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake,
Or cut his wezand with thy knife. Remember
First to possess his books; for without them
He's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not
One spirit to command."

Before I'm accused of inciting a tempest in a tea cup, I must return to the safety of the Shed,

"I'll to my book,
For yet ere supper-time must I perform
Much business appertaining."

>25 drasvola:

I am not envious of that collection... at all :) Congratulation - nice job getting all of these together :)

Wow, the Shakespeare look wonderful lined up on the shelf together. Congratulations on your collection! :)

"O, it is monstrous! monstrous!..."

> 34

Thank you. I guess I can play a bit with colour patterns!

>25 drasvola:. Oh I think you've inspired me to collect these. I do hope when FS eventually does a revamp of Shakespeare, they go back to invidivdual plays.

> 37

I feel the same way. It would be a great idea for FS to start publishing again Shakespeare's plays in individual volumes. Attractive binding, and adequate and pertinent illustrations would have me buying a new set. Ideally, it would also include some critical apparatus. Just hoping that they would not take too many years to complete it!

> 37, 38

I agree. The Letterpress Shakespeare's are beautiful but too bulky and expensive to collect. Individual and portable volumes of the plays are ideal for everyday use. Portability is the most important factor for me in any individual presentation of the plays.

> 31 I am filled with envy! - of the emulative rather than the malicious kind. My first Folio purchase was Richard II (introduced by John Gielgud?) and I had collected many more of the series before, unwilling to be parted from them, I idiotically took them with me on a three year posting to Seychelles, where humidity and ants duly put an end to them. Your bookshelf stirs desires that can only be assuaged by starting all over again....

> 40

I'm sure the ants became very literary! Yes, Richard II is introduced by Sir John Gielgud and the designs were by Loudon Sainthill for Gielgud's 1952 production at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. FS published the play in 1958. Do start again with your collection!

> 25

wow, I am so envious. I have often thought of collecting this series. it was available as a compete set and in individual volumes when I first joined FS in 1978. At that stage it was beyond my means and subsequently I have been put off because the only specimens I have seen in 2nd hand shops have not been in good condition. Your collection seems to be in pristine condition, so I am inspired anew. But then I would probably go for a new FS series especially if it was a critical edition along the lines of the Arden Shakespeare I had in school. But then, can I wait 25 years for the FS to complete the publication of a new series!

> 42

Thanks. It is a fascinating collection to have. Most of the books I bought from ardis and ebay. Abebooks was not as reliable. I received from a seller a book with a slipcase that I was unhappy with. It had been repaired with red plastic tape. It is Romeo and Juliet as it can be seen on the photograph. However, most books were in very good and fine condition. Some apparently hadn't even been read. Another devotee helped me (thank you again, you know who you are) with three books.

I agree that a critical edition would be a welcomed project for FS. Let's encourage the Society to do it!

I bought a couple of these last year with the intention of completing the series but the quality of those I got on E Bay was a bit iffy and I decided to leave it. Like others have mentioned I would welcome a new edition along similar size to these. Are you watching mole?

> 42 "Some apparently hadn't even been read."

I find it depressing how often FS books appear in booksellers' lists as 'unread' or even (of more recent publications) 'still in original shrink wrap'. Of course it's good news for us as collectors, but sad that so many Folio volumes appear to be bought by (or for?) people with so little interest in their contents. Lends some credence to their being on what Tim Spalding referred to in another thread ("Probably ignorant criticism of the FS") as 'the continuum of middle class home decoration' - bought to impress.

'An unopened book is no less a waste of the good Lord's bounty than an ungralloched stag.' - Alexander Lewis Gabnash, Head Ghillie, National Library of Scotland.

>45 featherwate: I don't know, I've got over 50 books in my library I haven't yet read. I've got every intention of reading all of them but sometimes I buy faster than I read. New/unread books are not necessarily a sign that the purchaser was buying for purely decorative purposes.

"New/unread books are not necessarily a sign that the purchaser was buying for purely decorative purposes."

No, they could just be a sign that the owner didn't live the 1,000 or so years she needed to in order to complete her TBR Pile--says the woman who might just have more unread than read books in her house. :-o

> 46 >47 haniwitch:
True, true. If I drop dead tonight, my family will be on the phone to Ardis or some such tomorrow morning, tempting them with In Search of Lost Time "five and a half volumes unread"; Candide "he touched the spine but was too frightened to take it out of its slipcase"; The Golem "slight odour of wet dog but otherwise perfect"...
But at least I have managed to unwrap everything!

I have to echo 46, 47, 48 My TBR is growing by leaps and bounds. If I were to stop buying books, and that won't happen, it would take a number of years to finish. Luckily I have a nephew asnd niece who read. If that fails I would have my lawyer to post the books on LT for a giveaway...

> 45

"ungralloched"? Quick, my dictionary.

I have to admit that I've left many of my FS purchases wrapped up for the past 6 months. I knew I would be moving (though I didn't think it would take this long!) so I gave the books a quick visual inspection for transit damage and tucked them right back into their shipping boxes and taped them up again. So if I were hit by a bus tonight, my executor would find a stack of brand new and untouched FS books, all nicely itemized and ready to go!

Add me to the list of people who can't keep up with her reading. I have something like 250 to-be-read books in my house, some of them Folios.

Of the Folios I've read, many barely look touched because I always have a paperback copy going concurrently and switch between editions; the paperbacks fit in my purse more neatly than the Folios ;-)

And here I was thinking I should be cutting back in my book purchasing in light of my TBR pile. I now know I was badly mistaken, and it's full steam ahead as usual. ;)

> 45, 50

I see now... was never much of a hunter, but the term would be perfect for a metaphor!

>52 beatlemoon:
Moved 9 months ago with a total of 6 books (I think) and somehow already have a few hundred books around the house. Plus a few hundred on the kindle. My unread/read ratio is getting worse by the day...

> 54

Particularly if the book, like the deer, was hidebound!

>52 beatlemoon:

How do you manage the switchign back and forth between paperback and Folio editions? I've tried it and it drives me mad, the pages never sync up and I spend a good portion of my reading window working out where I was!

I've taken to reading a Folio at home and a different paperback for the train now.

Put me on the list of people with gargantuan To Be Read piles though, my LibraryThing currently says I have 510... Though i refuse to believe that is accurate and think I might go clean it up...

>57 LipstickAndAviators:

Eh, I generally stick with the paperback anyway, even at home, for that reason. So it's not like I'm switching volumes daily. I might start in the Folio, read a couple of chapters, then switch and stick with the paperback until halfway through the book. Then I'll pick up the Folio again, read a couple of chapters (and flip through to see the illustrations I missed), then switch back. So I only go back and forth 2 or 3 times, usually.

Antonio, what are the gorgeous, leather volumes in the lower, left corner of your photo?

> 59

An eight volume set (ISBN 84-7461-158-X) published in 1999 for the Club Internacional del Libro with Shakespeare's complete works in Spanish. The translator is Luis Astrana Marín who also adds a short commentary, notes and a bibliography. It is a well known translation in prose that was originally published by Aguilar. A very handy edition to consult and hold comfortably. The drawback is that the type is rather small.

The picture is deceiving, SaxonWarlord; alas, the books are bound in faux-leather...

>59 SaxonWarlord:

While we're examining that enticing photo in detail, is the instrument on the lower shelf at right a clock, or are you managing the humidity levels in this room?

> 61

It is a radio clock. That particular place happens to be where the radio signal is picked up best...

>20 drasvola:.

Drasvola,

Re: Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jolities (1949 and 1952 issues)

I received a kind and thoughtful email from Paul Nash. He was interested to hear. He is no longer the librarian for the FS but has sent my findings to his successor.

In the email he said he was pretty sure that item 44.5 existed because he had access to the print run records when he was compiling the bibliographies, and those records would suggest that the run for 44.5 was either the same as or half of the 1949 edition.

Among the possible explanations for the "missing book" he suggested that:

1. The 1952 issue was a "silent reprint", ie no indication on the colophon that this was another impression, the only changes being noticeable in the binding and the reprinted colour plates

or

2. That only half the copies of the 1949 issue were bound and issued in 1949. The reasoning behind this possibility is that the colour plates would have been much more expensive to print than the letterpress and it would make economic sense to not print more pages of plates than would likely be sold initially. When those books sold out, a second run of plates were printed and the new run of plates were combined with the stored letterpress and bound and issued in 1952. If this explanation is correct it would certainly explain why there is no change in the colophon.

The print run for the 1949 issue was twice that of the 1952 issue, so if explanation 2 is correct then the original print run was for all the letterpress and half the plates, and the 1952 run was for the remaining plates.

My thoughts are that it is probably not that hard now to distinguish between the 1949 and 1952 issues given what I've noted and Paul's information

If you have a copy with a dustjacket then, if the backcover has an advertisement for "The Compleat Angler", you have the 1949.
If you have a copy without a dustjacket the colour plates are printed on thicker paper than the letterpress in the 1949 issue.

I'll go out on a limb and say that the plates for the 1952 issue were printed by The Chiswick Press, despite the colophon crediting the 1949 printer Van Leer of Amsterdam. The reason is that the paper thickness in the 1952 issue is much the same as the paper thickness of the plates in the other Surtees books in the series, and all the other books' plates were printed by The Chiswick Press....now if anyone had access to The Chiswick Press records!

> 63

Good work! Thank you so much for the update, SimB. Am I wrong to assume that you think one of your two copies is the "ghost" impression? Congratulations are in order. Mr. Nash was very kind indeed to offer you extra information. I've been searching abebooks and it is very hard to determine which might be the actual impression by the descriptions given. This is clearly something that one has to see and feel at the seller's location. Let's go on a bibliographic hunt parodying Mr. Jorrock!

>64 drasvola:

Yes I believe that I have a copy of the 1949 (with dustjacket) and the 1952 (without dustjacket) issue. A few days ago, when looking through the probable 1952 issue I did come across a loose advertising insert which would be consistent with this belief. This insert could not have been included in the 1949 issue as it mentions as "already published", 2 other books not yet published in 1949, and prices JJ&J at 25/-, when the 1949 price was 21/-.

As previously mentioned, the colour plates in my (definite) 1949 edition are printed on thicker paper than my (probable) 1952 issue, and there are minor, but definite differences in the binding. There is no silk headband in the copy of my 1949 issue for example, and the cloth covering (1949) seems to have a slightly finer weave.

Although I am convinced that I have a copy of the "ghost" impression, I would like to track down a copy with the DJ to round out the story. There is a copy from an Abebook seller which may be a candidate. I did email the seller about the original price on the inside flap. The 1949 issue sold for 21/- and the 1952 for 25/-. He wrote back that there was no price on the inside flap. I hope that when it arrives it is not a price clipped 1949 issue! A more exacting question may relate to the back cover advertisement. By 1952 the idea of a Surtees series was entrenched and the linking of the original issue to "The Compleat Angler" would have been dropped (see item 44.5 Folio 60 about the "alternate" DJ.)

It would appear that the 1952 issue may not be particularly rare, but is always listed as a 1949 edition because of the colophon. If you do track down a 1952 copy please let me know!

Here's a scan of the advertising insert into my probable 1952 issue.

Anyway the hunt is a little bit of fun, and I've spent less than $50 on it!

> 65

I will certainly let you know if I find something. This has turned into an intriguing project. Thanks for all your input.

I'm always fascinated by this sort of bibliographical detective work. Be sure to keep us up-to-date as more information comes to light! Another big thank you to Paul Nash as well!

This thread has gone in several directions, but I am interested in message #25, especially since dustjackets were mentioned in the Surtees parts. Drasvola, it is great that you assembled the 37 Shakespeare volumes, but did you know that the first 10 volumes came out with dustjackets, from 1950-58? I have those 10, but not many of the rest. Or did you specifically try to get them all with slipcases to show the uniformity on your bookshelves? There is an interesting quirk about this, in that even though all the original editions have the seven quills on the covers, several of them have pictorial dustjackets, but two have quills on their dustjackets, but only five quills.

Oh, and you should add the original Sonnets volume, from 1948. It too has a dustjacket, but is smaller and does not have quills on the cover.

68 > The Salvador Dali backcloth on the cover of the 1953 As You Like It is worth having just for itself:



A larger version is available at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62235807@N02/6024006684/

The costume designs within are relatively restrained.

Are any of the other covers as dramatic/colourful?

(Edited 9 August to include picture)

> 68

Thanks for your message. Yes, I was aware that the first editions had a dustcover with a picture (I believe the same as one of the illustrations in the book) but I didn't know that the quills in different quantities were also stamped on the cover. When I was looking for second hand copies I only checked that the seven quills were present. I would have to go back to Folio 60 to find out if the books were the same size from the very beginning. The slipcases were not an issue in themselves. I just thought that the very first volumes were different so they wouldn't match the later volumes and I wanted all of them to look alike. Regarding the first Sonnets, I was outbid at the last moment a few months ago when trying to get a copy. I have a more recent reprint. With additional input and info from other followers of these books I am sure to improve my present collection. It is the bane of collectors that satisfaction appears an unattainable goal.

Re Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities

I have three variants all with dustjackets and all dated 1949.

The first is the more common variant with the advert for The Compleat Angler on the back cover of the dustjacket, cost 21s.

The second has no text on the back or inside flaps of the dustjacket. No advertisements and no price

The third advertises Handley Cross and Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour on the dustjacket. As these were published in 1950/1951, this must be the 1952 issue. The dustjacket has a price of 25s

The first variant uses thicker paper than the other two variants and has no silk headband. I guess variant one is 1949 and the others 1952

Hope this helps

>71 mboyne:

Wow. Thank you so much for your information. I think you've cracked the case, and in addition providing information on a third DJ which has never been documented before. Folio 60, item 44.5 does mention the second jacket, but your third jacket definitely gives a 1952 provenance to this reissue/reprinting. Your desription of the 2nd jacket exactly meets a reply I got from a recent seller when I enquired about the price on the inside flap. He replied "there is nothing printed on the inside flaps". I've ordered the book a week or two ago but it will be shipped to Australia by surface mail no doubt.

With your agreement I'll email Paul Nash the information you've provided. I'm sure he will pass it onto the current librarian. Hopefully whenever a new bibliography is published the mysterious item 44.5 will show a resolution.

Now...a lighthearted question....why in the hell have you got three copies of Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jolities in the first place?

Thanks again for your post

> 71, 72

Thanks very much for this exciting information. So great to hear factual data about the existence of these editions. So now there are three not two of them. Will they assign a 44.75 or 44.5a number to the third one? The key appears to include the dustjacket, the price, the headband and the thickness of the paper. A case for a Holmesian bibliographer. Mr. Nash and the current FS bibliographer will indeed be very happy. SimB has to get credit for initiating this research and following it through. Watch the second market price of these editions skyrocket...

>73 drasvola:

If FS is to be consistent in the how things are listed then 44.5 will be deleted (as it is not a new edition) and the reissue/reprint along with the alternate DJs will be noted in Item 18 which is the number given to the 1949 edition.

I doubt that secondary market prices will change at all, since there are only probably about 4 people in the world who could care less about the matter, and it would appear that the 1952 version is not all that uncommon.

What has been achieved is a way of telling the 1949 and the 1952 versions apart and the discovery of a previously unrecorded dustjacket (thanks to mboyne)

SimB, that's a lot of people who care about the matter, unless you meant to say "couldn't care less." ;-)

Happy for you to give the information to Paul Nash.

Why have I got three versions? because there are three versions! I am trying to get hold of all the variants of all the books FS have ever produced. Pretty much there but unfortunately I have to keep most in storage as I live in Hong kong and apartment sizes are not designed for large libraries. I am planning to move in the next few years to the Philippines and build a place with a two-storey library - then at least I can have all the books in one place

Regards

>76 mboyne: Mark

Any update on the picture of your bookcases? I really enjoyed seeing the last pictures. It is good to see you here again. Do you collect any other books than FS?

> 76

Amazing project that you have. Good luck with completing the collection. I have emailed Paul Nash with the information collected over the past few days. I do have a follow up question. How did you know that there were 3 different DJs? Folio 60 notes the 1949 jacket with "The Compleat Angler" ad, and a jacket (without a book) which is your 2nd jacket. There is no mention of a third jacket. Was that information published in some other source or did you come across the jacket by chance while perusing books in a 2nd hand bookstore?