Letter from Elkin Mathews Ltd to The Hogarth Press (29/09/1930)

 

[[1]]

 

[[MS 2750/93/48]]

 

[pre-printed letterhead] Elkin Mathews Ltd. Booksellers 33, CONDUIT STREET, LONDON, W.1.

 

Messrs. The Hogarth Press.

 

29th. Sept. 1930

 

Dear Sirs,

 

For the purpose of including a statement about it in a bibliographical work on which I am engaged, I shall be grateful for any information you can give me about the first edition of Mr. E. M. Forster's "Pharos & Pharillon".

 

It is known to me in two forms. (1) the binding measures nine inches high, the pattern of the marbling runs perpendicularly, the cloth back-strip shows to a depth of only 3/16" on the side the leaves are entirely untrimmed. (2) the book is noticeably smaller in size, the depth of back-strip showing on the side is nearly half an inch, the pattern of the marbling runs horizontally the edges of the leaves are trimmed.

 

The first form seems to be rarer than the second. Was it a trial binding, or in any way earlier (or later) than No.(2)? Can you provide me with any reason, whatever for the variation?

 

I apologize for troubling you in this matter, but I shall be extremely grateful for any assistance you can extend to me.

 

Yours faithfully | Percy H. Muir. [signature]

Rights Statement:

Reproduced with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, courtesy of Penguin Random House UK Archive and Library owner of the Hogarth Press collection at the University of Reading Special Collections.

Source: MS 2750/93/48

Image Rights Holder: © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Letter from Elkin Mathews Ltd to The Hogarth Press (29/09/1930)

Library:

University of Reading, Special Collections

Percy H. Muir enquires about the 1st edition of 'Pharos and Pharillon' for a biographical work he is preparing. He queries the variations in the forms of the editions of the book.

Handwritten letter signed by Muir