James Branch Cabell : An Illustrated Bibliography
BALLADES FROM THE HIDDEN WAY
Hall Code |
Description |
BHW-A1a |
First Printing, Special Paper 1928 |
COMPILATION
Full Title:
Title page recto: BALLADES | FROM THE HIDDEN WAY | JAMES BRANCH CABELL | [in decorative script] "De balader j'ay beau loisir" | [decoration in red - an ink drawing of a tree in a single ruled box] | CROSBY GAIGE | NEW YORK | 1928 (see image above).
Title page verso: COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY JAMES BRANCH CABELL | PRINTED IN U. S. A. (see image above).
Publication:
New York: Crosby Gaige, 1928.
Collation:
Thin medium octavo [24.8 cm. (9¾ in.) x 16.2 cm. (6⅜ in.)]; 1 blank leaf (not counted in pagination) + 44 pp. + 1 blank leaf; (1) title page; (2) publication data; (3)-(4) dedication; (5) introduction (verso blank); (7) CONTENTS (verso blank); (9) half-title, 10-41 text (verso blank) [all text pages are enclosed in an elaborate red boxed border with hanging vine motifs on the fore-edge]; (43) colophon (verso blank).
Binding:
Quarter bound in black cloth over gold decorated blue paper boards, gilt lettering on spine; top edge trimmed, else untrimmed. Spine: [lettered up the spine in italic] Ballades from the Hidden Way CABELL. Front and rear covers: decorated with four different concentric ruled boxes tooled in gold: outer box: thick rule; second box: thin rule: third box: dotted swag; inner box: floral vine (see image above).
Dedication:
FOR | MRS. MILLAMANT | [in italic] — "a fine Lady, but loves MIRABELL" — | THESE SIXTEEN DISINTERMENTS | [28-line poem in four stanzas, spread over two pages] (see images above).
Introduction:
[Short introduction of 24-lines in three paragraphs, signed by Mr. Cabell] (see image above).
Colophon:
[Crosby Gaige ram device in red] | EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE | copies for sale on Vidalon and eight | copies on grey paper at the Printing House | of William Edwin Rudge. Each copy signed | by the author. Decorations and typography | by W. A. Dwiggins. Distributed in America | by Random House. (see image above).
The colophon for the special paper copies differs from that of the normal issue, BHW-A1, by omitting the printed "No." and handwritten copy number on the last line.
Endpapers:
The copy shown here was Mr. Cabell's personal copy. The FFEP reads, in Mr. Cabell's hand: James Branch Cabell | His book : one of eight | copies on gray paper.
This example is now in the Cabell Room at the James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University. The scans are courtesy of Ray Bonis, Senior Research Associate, Special Collections and Archives.
Dust jacket:
At The Silver Stallion we have seen a number of copies of the regular printing in dust jackets of plain, white (well, white at one time, anyway) jackets made of a thin, translucent parchment paper. We've also seen one copy of the special paper edition in this same jacket. We don't have any documentation to support this, but it does appear that the book was issued in this jacket (see image above).
Notes:
The text consists of sixteen ballads reprinted from From the Hidden Way, Hal FHW-A1. The only new material is the dedication and the short introduction, signed by Mr. Cabell, on page (5).
