Jorrocks' Jaunts & Jollities 1949 & 1952

I posted some information about a "First 100 books" collection I was undertaking in a recent "Folio books collection thread" http://www.librarything.com/topic/120514 Part of the discussion was about JJJ&J and whether there was a 1952 edition (or not). Folio 60 mentions the possibility of this edition and even gives it a number 44.5, but then states that no copy of this edition has ever been located. There is mention of a variant dustjacket and a note pasted into the FS library copy of the 1st edition.

Originally I was skeptical that there was a 1952 issue...WRONG
Then I believed that it was a reissue or a 2nd impression...WRONG

I think that I have now accumulated sufficient evidence that the 1952 edition exists and can be clearly differentiated, both in text and binding from the 1949 issue. So item 44.5 exists AND it was reset, or at the very least partially reset, and therefore qualifies as a new edition.

I've posted more details about the detective work on my blog for those that are interested (I know that Antonio will be at the very least). The blog is mainly for my own amusement, and its appearance is somewhat "rustic"

http://foliosocietybooks.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/jorrocks-jaunts-and-jollities....

Congratulations, SimB! Your patient and unflinching work of research has resulted in a bibliographic coup that goes beyond the findings that baffled others. All FS collectors have now a better understanding of these elusive editions. Thank you very much. Now to find copies...

If anyone is interested in picking up a copy of the elusive 1952 edition with the blank rear dustjacket (see item 44.5 in Folio 60)...there's one for sale
The seller assumes its the 1949 edition but I'm confident that an examination looking for the specific differences that I've recorded in my blog will show that it's the 1952 issue.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1097654104&searchurl=bi%3D0...

> 3

Thank you so much, SimB. I've ordered it. Will let you know the details when I receive it.

Fast work Antonio!

I would certainly be interested to know if the jacket has no printing on the inside flaps, the book has a silk headband, and the same typos I documented are present. I would also be interested to know whether some of the pages with the printed plates are shorter than the rest. I now have 3 copies of the 1952 issue, and one has shorter pages for some of the colour plates. I suspect this may have been an isolated defective copy, but ironically was the standout feature which set me off on this pursuit.

Paul Nash sent me a follow up email the other day. Although he is no longer the Folio Society librarian he is interested in the matter, and agrees that there is now enough information to verify the existence of a 1952 issue. The email to which he replied to was sent before I discovered a couple of typographical errors in the 1952 issue. I am sure he will not mind me posting his final comment

"What we still need to answer, of course, is the
edition-versus-impression-versus-issue question, which should be
susceptible of answer if enough copies are examined. Fingers crossed!"

So, an independant confirmation of the jacket differences, the binding differences, and the typos would be great to have. I would also welcome input from other members who have a copy of the book to help give a definitive answer regarding the edition/impression/issue question. This can be done whether or not there is a dustjacket by reference to my blog article

Step 1.

Does the book have a silk headband?

Yes...you have the 1952 issue
No....you have the 1949 issue

Step 2.

If you have the 1952 issue does it have the same typos documented here
http://foliosocietybooks.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/jorrocks-jaunts-and-jollities....

These are on pages 169 and 213

If you have the 1949 issue then these typos should be absent

It would be great if all members who have copies of this book could report findings to confirm or refute the typos in the two different issues.

I'll leave it at that for a couple of weeks. It would be great if all those who have a copy of the book can examine the copy and post the findings. I'm sure its not commonly held but maybe one or two other people have the book.

After that I'll email Paul (with a cc. to the current librarian) with any new information

I have been piqued into examining my own copy. It seems that I too have the 1952 edition. It has the plain dustjacket, the red/green silk headband and also the typos mentioned. This is a bit of a blow because it now means I will have to find a copy of the 1949 edition with a good dust jacket - my 1952 edition has an absolutely mint jacket without any chips, tears, creases or bleaching.

Present responses seem to suggest that there may be more 1952 editions about than 1949 ones.

> 7
"Present responses seem to suggest that there may be more 1952 editions about than 1949 ones."

- that seems likely, as paper rationing was not lifted until around 1949/1950 (or 1949 for books, 1950 for magazines, if the websites I've just looked at are accurate).

> 7 & 8

Paul Nash did let me know some details of the production runs and the 1952 issue was about half of the 1949, so there should be plenty of the 1949 first edition out there!

I have received my copy of Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities and it is the elusive 1952 edition, although the title page says that it is the 1949 edition. I have checked the typographical errors that SimB has discovered and they are all in the book:

p. 213 - comma
p. 169 - Countees
Contents page - no period after MR
List of Illustrations - no opening quotation mark
p. 12 - no circumflex diacritic on Deum

The dustcover is the variant that has only the cover and spine printed. Flaps and back cover are blank.

Please consult:

http://foliosocietybooks.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/jorrocks-jaunts-and-jollities.....

where SimB gives all the details for his bibliographic research, a finding that modifies the information given for this book in Folio 60.

Following is a picture of the variant dustcover:



Many thanks to SimB for his tireless investigative work.

(Edited to include dustcover)

>10 drasvola:
Thanks for confirming the details Antonio. If the jacket is anything to go by, it looks like you have a nice copy of the book. You may be interested to know that Paul Nash was kind enough to look at the scans on the blog and make some comments in an email. His opinion is that the evidence strongly suggests that the 1952 issue is a 2nd impression, rather than a 2nd edition. He feels that the likliehood is that both issues were derived from the same punch tape because the pages/selections shown are identical apart from the few errors/alterations noted. He thinks its likely that, after the proof pages were inspected, the errors, which were present on the tape when the type was cast for the 1949 issue, were found and corrected by hand on the plates prior to publication. By its very nature the actual tape for the monotype printing machine could not be corrected. When the 1952 issue was printed the type was recast from the original punch tape but this time the errors were not detected prior to publication. He makes the point that unless the original tape had been damaged or destroyed there would have been little reason to make a new tape, and even if a new tape had been made he would have expected many more differences between the two copies of the book in terms of spacings between words, line endings etc.

I'm very pleased that Paul was able to turn his professional and experienced eye towards the matter.

Anyway you now have a copy of the book with the orphan jacket mentioned in Folio 60 item 44.5, which is now at least a partially solved Folio Society historical mystery.

Hopefully I'll update the page on the blog with Paul's thoughts in the near future.

So...I think I'll have to retreat from my "2nd edition" position in the first post unless, as Dr Nash puts it, "further evidence comes to light"

It's been an interesting exercise. I've learnt a few things. It's given me a little extra satisfaction in collecting those first 100 FS books and it's even possible that the next FS Bibliography will incorporate some of the findings. I hope to be alive to check it out!

> 10, 11

Fascinating stuff - thanks for posting this.

I have received my second copy of Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities. It's the original 1949 edition. The errata discovered and mentioned by SimB when he identified the 1952 'edition' are missing. The dustcover has the advert for The Compleat Angler . This dustcover has the front inside flap cut out at the bottom where presumably the price for the book was printed. The book has no headband and the colour plates are printed on thicker paper than that of the text.

The seller mentioned that a piece of the front dustcover was missing (the whole part where 'by Henry Alken' is printed). Luckily, I've found the missing part inside the book, used as a page marker! Now the dustcover is repaired and in good condition. It never separated from the book itself. The endpapers have yellowed aged areas corresponding to the flaps...

Edited to add further book details.

>13 drasvola:

Antonio,

Thank you for posting this information. It helps confirm the existence of both a 1949 and 1952 edition/impression of the book, and resolution to the notes re item 44.5 in Folio 50 & Folio 60. I wonder what Folio 70 (assuming it is published) will show!

Although a mystery for 15 years, input from yourself, mboyne, appaloosaman, and Paul Nash seems to have finally solved it!

> 14

You did all the hard work... take credit for it!