A Hasty Bunch by McALMON, Robert (1895-1956) - 1922

[Paris: Printed in Dijon by Maurice Darantière for Contact Publishing Co.], 1922. 8vo. 288pp. Original printed French-folded wrappers, uncut and unopened. A beautiful, fresh copy with only a few areas of palest discoloration along the spine. FIRST EDITION, one of approximately 300 copies privately printed of McAlmon's second book (preceded by a collection of poetry) and the first book issued by his own Contact Publishing Co. McAlmon's privately-printed second book (preceded by a collection of poetry). This copy includes the broadside "From an h'English Printer to an English Publisher" laid-in. 

The Dijon printer Maurice Darantière printed this book shortly before he completed work on Joyce's Ulysses. McAlmon had assisted Joyce in the typing of the manuscript for that novel, reordering some of the material in the Penelope episode due to difficulties in interpreting Joyce's handwriting. Born in the American Midwest, McAlmon expatriated to Paris where he was closely allied with Joyce, Stein, Hemingway, Williams, and many other Modernists. His publishing company published Hemingway's first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, among other seminal works of the period. 

In his memoir, McAlmon recalled that Joyce said these stories reminded him of his own Dubliners and suggested the title A Hasty Bunch "because he found my American use of language racy" (p. 33). The story "A Boy's Discovery" is among McAlmon's more explicit explorations of homosexual themes. .