A14 MY HEAD! MY HEAD! 1925

a. First edition:

My Head! My Head! | Being the History of Elisha and the | Shunamite Woman; with the History | of Moses as Elisha related related it, and | her Questions put to him. | by | Robert Graves | 1925 | [rule] | London: Martin Secker

Collation: [A]8 B–I8, 72 leaves.

p.[1] My Head! My Head!; p.[2] quotation (4 1l.) from Skelton; p.[3] title-page; p.[4] printing and publisher’s notices; p. [5] To | T. E LAWRENCE [no point after initial E]; p.[6] blank; p.[7] CONTENTS; p.[8] blank; pp.9–27 ARGUMENT; p. [28] blank; p.[29] MY HEAD! MY HEAD!; p.[30] blank; pp.31–141 text; p.[142] printer’s notice; pp.[143]–[144] publisher’s advertisements.

19.0 × 11.5 cm. Bulk: 1.6/2.1 cm. White laid paper; top and fore-edges trimmed. Bound in red cloth with black veining design; spine black cloth stamped in gold: MY | HEAD! | MY | HEAD! | [circle] | GRAVES | SECKER

Price: 5s. Number of copies: 1,000. Published in June 1925 in cream dust-jacket printed in red.

Notes: A second issue was made up from 500 sheets of the earlier edition in March 1928; it differs as follows: title-page: [whole enclosed within rectangular heavy-rule box:] | [whole enclosed within rectangular light-rule box:] My Head! My Head! | by | Robert Graves | 1928 | [rule] | London: Martin Secker; [A] 1, 2 are cancels and 17 has been removed and the stub is followed by four leaves listing series titles on slightly smaller paper; p.[2] series notice; p. [4] publication and publisher’s notices; pp.[143]–[150] publisher’s advertisements; 17.2 × 11.0 cm.; bound in green cloth; spine stamped in gold: MY HEAD! | MY HEAD! | [star] | GRAVES | NEW | ADELPHI | LIBRARY; series device stamped in gold on front board and back board blank. Issued in grey dust-jacket printed in black and green.

The second issue is seen in both dark green and meduim green cloth.

Both A14a and A14b were printed in Great Britain.

Haskell House issued a photographic facsimile of this edition in 1974.

This book has been translated into Spanish as La historia de Eliseo y la sunamita. Translated into Spanish by Lucía Graves and Elena Lambea.

A14b. American issue (1925):

My Head! My Head! | Being the History of Elisha and the | Shunamite Woman; with the History | of Moses as Elisha related it, and | her Questions put to him. | by | Robert Graves | [publisher’s emblem] | 1925 | [rule] | New York: Alfred A. Knopf

Collation: [A]8 B–H8 I7, 71 leaves.

Remainder differs from A14a as follows: p.[4] printing notice; pp.[143]–[144] missing.

18.7 × 12.0 cm. Bulk: 1.8/2.2 cm. White laid paper; top edges only trimmed and stained yellow. White wove endpapers. Bound in cream boards printed with large angular design in black and irregular ink-blots of red, blue, yellow, orange and green; back blank; front has yellow label: [rectangular decorative box rule enclosing all:] My Head! My Head! | ROBERT GRAVES; spine has orange label: [rectangular decorative box rule enclosing all:] My | Head! | My | Head! | ROBERT | GRAVES

Price: $2.00. Number of copies: 500. Published 5 June 1925 in light purple dust-jacket printed in black.

Note: The cover and spine labels are both yellow, but are given to darkening to orange.