James, Norah C. ~ Sleeveless Errand

Henry Babou and Jack Kahane, Paris : 1929 / 1933

The First Paris edition published by Henry Babou and Jack Kahane, Paris in 1929. Large 8vo., cream cloth-backed decorative black and white boards; spine lettered in black; outer edges untrimmed; together in the original pictorial wrapper printed in black and yellow, priced '50 Francs' to the spine, and featuring a striking period design by M. Kahane ; The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. A little bubbled along the backstrip, with spotting to edges of text block and prelims, and the odd spot throughout. Some light splash marks to the lower edge of pages 90-91 ; The WRAPPER is in Very Good++ condition. The panels and spine are a little toned, with some light spots and marking; rubbed to folds; some small nicks, chips and closed tears to extremities, the longest 3.5cm approx; repaired to the verso with tape. The wrapper artwork looks striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. First Paris printing in the second state wrapper which is exactly the same as the first issue in design but detailing 'The Obelisk Press' as the publisher, the price as '50 francs' (initially sold at 100 francs) and the rear panel carrying four Obelisk Press titles, the last of which, 'The Well of Loneliness' dates the wrapper from no earlier than May 1933. Indeed, James knew Radclyffe Hall well, and attended the 1928 obscenity trial for 'The Well of Loneliness'. Here, the Arnold Bennett review quoted on the front flap has also been reset, and beneath it now appears 'Entirely unexpurgated edition of the novel that was SEIZED BY THE LONDON POLICE'. The wrapper artwork, the same as the first, was provided by the artist Marcelle Kahane (the publisher's wife). Kahane had overestimated the demand for the book in 1929 and consequently found himself with piles of unsold copies. These went on to be sold in the 1930's, as here, in the second issue wrapper, the revised wording of which claimed the book for the Obelisk Press. The first Paris edition of Norah James' debut novel, which was banned in the UK shortly after publication. The novel follows Paula, a bohemian jilted by a lover, with an existential itch. She resorts to suicide, forming a pact with a stranger to drive off of a cliff. Though the stranger backs out, Paula proceeds with the plan. Originally printed in London by Scholartis Press, a proof copy of that edition was, as the wrapper correctly states, seized and the publisher was prosecuted by Bow Street Police Court. Of the 750 copies produced, 517 were confiscated before they even hit the shelves, and most of the others were destroyed in the days which followed. Later investigation suggested that the police had been tipped off about the content from the editor of the 'Morning Post', shortly after they had received the review copy. It was subsequently printed in Paris that same year by Jack Kahane's Obelisk Press. According to one publication, 'Sleeveless Errand' was likely the most suppressed novel ever to be published in England. Every store containing copies was raided, and a guard was posted to stand outside one such location for an entire weekend before the owner could be located to remove it. Even today, no-one has been able to provide an adequate explanation for this reaction, and why it was censored so intensively, although one theory suggests that it was because of one specific word printed in the book. The official basis for the prosecution was that the novel could have a degrading, immoral influence, and 'tended to excite unhealthy passions'. The publication undoubtedly sparked a lively debate concerning censorship, with Arnold Bennett calling it a "merciless exposure of neurotics and decadents" and Garnett defending the apparent blasphemy and promiscuity by comparing it with Hemingway's 'Fiesta', which received none of the same treatment. Such drama did nothing to sway James from a literary life, and her subsequent output of novels was prolific. A scarce copy of this wonderfully designed book. (My thanks to : Pearson, Neil ~ Obelisk: A History of Jack Kahane and the Obelisk Press, 2007).

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++
JACKET: Very Good++