Contemporary Fiction "The Bell Jar"

This is the Contemporary Fiction version of The Bell Jar. I think it is the last of the moniker publications before it was revealed Sylvia Plath was the author. From what I can tell, CF is a sort of book club. I was surprised at how nice a version this one is. Other than a tiny bit of scruffing on the back, it seems pristine and the hardcover lettering is mirror-like with its bright aluminum shine.

To the left we have it canoodling with a naked Colossus!

The Colossus

I pulled this out to shoot it and realized I really NEED a better copy. The jacket is pretty sad. This middle-aged lady looks better with her coat off. The skin underneath is near pristine, sharp green, no dings or age spots. Somehow I have drifting off into Anthropomorphic land. I'll stop.

I did shoot the heck out of it, with an all time (so far) high number of thirteen photos. And I realized that in the beginning of this blog I failed to take the jackets off my earlier hardbacks. I'll probably go back an re-visit those items.

So here you go, everything you wanted to know about the Knopf, First edition of 'The Colossus.' It has also given me the idea that maybe someone should put together a bibliography with photos, now that technology has made something like that easier to pull together.

Unaccomodated Universe

It's funny how 'dated' this book seems, judging it specifically by the cover design. 1980. It is the book cover version of NBA players wearing short, shorts and long socks.

The orange burlap is a bland burnt orange colour in real life. In these photos it looks all coppery and exciting. Not the case. The book comes with a very stiff and clear jacket that I took off to avoid flashbacks when shooting it.

I read online that there a 294 of these signed by both Ted and Ekbert.

back cover

Letter Home Uncorrected Proof

As they say in Baw-stun, this is a wicked-tall green thing. Proof's aren't pretty, but they can be very interesting to compare with what got into the final book and what did not. This proof has at least three different spots where there is really thick 'white-out' applied. There are handwrit notes throughout, which are not original but part of the copied text.

Comics.

This is a cute little book with an illustrated Ted Hughes poem. It is signed by Hughes and the illustrator. According to the blurb, 149 of these were signed by both.

Proof copy of original "Journals" publication

This is an uncorrected proof of the 1982, highly abridged version of Sylvia's journals. Thankfully we have the real deal now to focus on. However, this version is historical Exhibit A of the editing that went on, with, I'm sure, the best of intentions all around.

Among the Narcissi poster

I love the colours and design of this poster. It was created in 1971 and was limited to 300 (re: Tabor). The orange you see in the two, far corners is part of my 'creative' matting when a poster doesn't exactly fit a frame--and not part of the poster itself.

Two Poems

Well, this is a self-explanatory item. It contains two poems:
Incommunicado
&
Firesong

My Tabor says there were only 200 of these for sale, with Ted and Olwyn Hughes taking a chunk of them for personal use.

Million Dollar Month

A small, single poem limited publication. Addendum: the number page. Thought this looked a bit sparse!

A little Otto booklet...

A rather boring little booklet authored by Otto Plath, regarding some insect. The paper cover is in fine condition with with some browning to the edges. It is an odd, mottled colour I don't even know how to describe and doesn't translate well digitally.

POEMS. Fainlight / Hughes / Sillitoe

This book has poems from each of the three authors and is signed by all three. The outer case is leather as is the book itself...which is soft as buttah. A real feelix. The cover lining paper is stunning as you can see from the picture--what the picture doesn't show is there is a 'texture' to the paper too. The book and case are in excellent shape and it is one of the 'prettiest' books I've ever seen.

Back cover

Beautiful hand-printed Japanese paper lines
the inside front and back of this book

All three author's signatures

Damn hedgehog snuck in...

Leather slip case