Paris: The Obelisk Press. Early edition. Paperback. 364pp. Small octavo [19 cm] Red, black and white printed wraps. With Errata Page. Very good. The edges of the covers are subtly rubbed, and the pages are mildly browned. In very nice condition. Miller entered into the writer's circle with Tropic of Cancer, which still proves to be Miller's most famous work. Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn depict Miller's lives and loves as an expatriate in Paris. They were first published in France by Jack Kahane at Obelisk Press in the mid-thirties. When the works were brought to the United States, they sparked a thirty year censorship debate that was eventually won by Miller.

Synopsis

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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Details

Bookseller: Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 24581
Title: Tropic of Capricorn
Author: Miller, Henry
Format/Binding: Paperback
Book Condition: Used
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: Early edition
Publisher: The Obelisk Press
Place of Publication: Paris
Keywords: SEATTLE2019

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Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA

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Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA

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Salt Lake City, Utah

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About Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA

Ken Sanders Rare Books is a full service antiquarian bookshop in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. We carry an ever-changing inventory of art, ephemera, maps, photography, and postcards in addition to a vast selection of used and rare books along with a few new books. We actively purchase and appraise books in all fields.

Glossary

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Octavo: Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
Errata: Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
Edges: The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...