Ulysses by Joyce, James - 1936

London: John Lane the Bodley Head, 1936. Wilcox, Michael. Octavo. xiii, (766)pp. First edition printed in England. From an edition of 1,000 copies, this is one of 900 printed on Japon vellum. Text follows the second Odyssey Press edition. Includes a bibliography by Peter Pertzoff that had been sent to Joyce and was then printed without the bibliographer's knowledge. Bound in full black morocco by Michael Wilcox, stamp-signed on the verso of the front endpaper. Author's name, title, and date tooled in gilt on the spine. According to Wilcox, this binding was executed in 1973 for a Toronto book dealer. Wilcox set up a bindery in the small shed behind the home he and his wife moved into in 1969. His work during these early years "consisted almost entirely of the repairing and rebinding of antiquarian books from dealers, collectors and a few institutional libraries within the Toronto area" (In Retrospect, p. 30). The present binding is an example of this work. While plain, there is an unmistakable quality to the gilt tooling, and a pleasing heft to the binding itself. Examples of this early work by Wilcox seldom appear on the market. Original covers, featuring the bow design by Eric Gill, bound-in at the rear. Housed in marbled paper-covered slipcase. Very fine. Prospectus and letter from Wilcox identifying this binding laid in. (Slocum & Cahoon A23).