Tropic of Capricorn

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.

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• About first editions
• What is a first edition?