James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography
THE CERTAIN HOUR (Dizain des Poëtes)
Hall Code |
Description |
CH-D1a (E) |
Second English Edition, Binding Variant 1931 |
COMPILATION
Full Title:
Title page recto: THE | CERTAIN HOUR | [in italic] (Dizain des Poêtes) | By | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | "Criticism, whatever may be its pretensions, never | does more than to define the impression which | is made upon it at a certain moment by a work | wherein the writer himself noted the impression | of the world which he received at a certain hour." | LONDON | JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LIMITED (see image above).
Title page verso: [in italic] First Published in 1931 | [rule] | Printed in Great Britain by | Miller, Son & Compy. (Wyman & Sons Ltd.), Fakenham and London (see image above).
Publication:
London: John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd., 1931
Collation:
Crown octavo [18.9 cm. (7 7/16 in.) x 13.3 cm. (5 ¼ in.)]; Pp. 256 (first 8 un-numbered); (1) half title, (2) BY THE SAME AUTHOR; (3) title page; (4) publication data; (5) Dedication (verso blank); (7) Contents; (8) quotation; pp. 9-253 text. Pages (11), (35), (61), (87), (107), (127), (149), (171), (191), (211), and (235) are fly titles. Pages (6), (85), and (256) are blank.
Binding:
Purple cloth, lettering on spine and front cover in yellow; top edge trimmed and stained purple, else untrimmed. Spine: [in italic] THE | CERTAIN | HOUR | [double rule] | JAMES | BRANCH | CABELL | [in italic] THE | BODLEY HEAD. Front cover: [in italic] THE CERTAIN HOUR | [double rule] | JAMES BRANCH | CABELL (see image above).
Dedication:
TO | ROBERT GAMBLE CABELL II | [in italic] In Dedication of The Certain Hour | sixteen line dedicatory verse in four quatrains (see image above).
Dust jacket:
White paper, lettering and decorations in black (see image above).
Spine: THE | CERTAIN | HOUR | Dizain des Poètes | JAMES BRANCH | CABELL | 7s. 6d. | NET | THE | BODLEY | HEAD
Front panel: THE CERTAIN HOUR | [pen and ink illustration by Frank C. Pápe] | JAMES BRANCH CABELL
Rear panel: [all enclosed in single ruled box] [in italic] James Branch Cabell | [list of 15 titles by Mr. Cabell] | [device] | [in italic] 7s. 6d. net each volume. | JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LTD., VIGO ST., W. 1
Front flap: THE CERTAIN HOUR | [23-line blurb in three paragraphs]
Rear flap: [in italic] By the same Author | THE WHITE ROBE : | A Saint's Summary | With Illustrations and | Decorations by | ROBERT E. LOCHER | [in italic] Limited to 200 copies for sale in | England, of which only a few | copies are left. | Medium 4to. £2 12s. 6d. | [16-lin blurb] | [in italic] The Bodley Head
Notes:
Hall notes two states of this printing, as we have shown. However, he also states that precedence between the two has not been established.
The dust jacket on this copy differs slightly from that of CH-D1 (E), by having the price shown on the spine.
John Lane's compositor couldn't seem to decide the correct diacritical mark for Poetes. In the McBride printings, it is shown with a diæresis, as Poëtes. On the title page of this Lane printing, the word appears with with a circumflex, as Poêtes. On the dust jacket of this same printing, though, it is shown with an accent grave: Poètes. Interestingly, each of these could be considered correct, depending on which period of French you choose to translate: Ancient, Middle, or Modern.
