SECTION A: Books written, co-written or translated by Robert Graves

A57 THE GOLDEN FLEECE [1944]

a. First edition:

Collation: [A]/A*8/8 B/B*–L/L*8/8 M/M*2/8, 186 leaves.

p. [1] THE GOLDEN FLEECE; p. [2] list of novels by Graves; p. [3] title-page; p. [4] economy, publication and printer’s notices; p. 5 quotation (9 ll.) from Diodorus Siculus; p.6 list of maps, table and illustrations; pp.7–8 CONTENTS; pp.9–27 INTRODUCTION, with pp.[16]–[17] being a genealogical table; p.28 INVOCATION; pp.29–44 text; p.45 map; pp.46–116 text; p. 117 illustrations; pp.118–260 text; p.[261] illustrations; pp.262–370[371] text; p.[372] blank.

21.7 × 13.3 cm. Bulk: 2.1/2.4 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed. White wove endpapers; outer sides of free endpapers blank; inner sides are maps, front of the outward voyage, back of the return voyage, of the Argo. Bound in medium blue cloth; front and back blank; spine stamped in gold: THE | GOLDEN | FLEECE ROBERT | GRAVES | CASSELL

Price: 12s. 6d. Number of copies: 11,073. Published in October 1944 in white dust-jacket printed in black and brown.

Notes: The last line on p. [4] of the first impression reads ‘F.344’, a code perhaps indicating the sheets were first printed March 1944. A review copy examined had this code. Also seen is a variant binding with spine stamped in black rather than gold. This binding is clearly later and perhaps the black stamping was substituted for gold as a war economy measure.

Some copies also carrying the edition notice ‘First Published 1944’ have the printing code “145”, suggesting the sheets were printed January 1945. Such copies seem to be a concealed later impression. The second impression has the code “1245” suggesting the sheets were printed December 1945. H & W noted there may also have been impressions in 1944 and 1945, but were not able to determine such. These questions merit further study.

A copy with the code ‘F.344’ on p. [4] was seen in a jacket with the words ‘OVERSEAS EDITION’ printed in black on the front flap. Another copy with code ‘145’ has ‘OVERSEAS’ rubberstamped in black on the spine panel of the jacket below the word ‘CASSELL’.

The first and second editions of this bibliography say there was a second impression published in January 1948 (1,966 copies). I have examined a copy of a second impression which states on the verso of the title-page: "First published November 1944 | Second Edition March 1947".

A photographic reprint was issued in hardcover and dust-jacket by Cedric Chivers in 1968.

This book has been translated into Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

A57b. First American edition ([1945]):

Collation: [ [1]8 [2] – [15]16 [16]8 240 leaves.

p.[i] HERCULES, MY SHIPMATE; p.[ii] blank; p.[iii] list of novels by Graves; p.[iv] map in blue; p.[v] title-page; p.[vi] economy, copyright and printer’s notices; p.[vii] quotation (8 ll.) from Diodorus Siculus; p.[viii] blank; pp.ix–x Contents; p [1] HERCULES, MY SHIPMATE; p.[2] Invocation; pp.3–445 text; p.[446] blank; pp.447–464 Historical Appendix, with pp.[456]–[457] being a genealogical table; pp.[465]–[470]blank.

20.2 × 13.6 cm. Bulk: 3.0/3.6 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed and sprinkled with blue. White wove endpapers are maps; first and fourth sides of endpapers blank; second and third sides of front show outward, of rear return, voyage of the Argo. Bound in buff cloth; back blank; front printed with solid blue rectangular box around which is stamped a gold rule border and inside which is stamped a facsimile signature of Graves; spine has gold stamping and blue printing: [five-rule crossbar design of two gold rules, blue decorative rule and two gold rules] | [solid blue rectangular box, in which:] ROBERT GRAVES | [three gold rules] | [solid blue rectangular box, inside which three lines:] HERCULES | my | SHIPMATE | [three gold rules] | [solid blue rectangular box, inside which two lines:] | CREATIVE AGE | PRESS | [a series of three five-rule devices, as at top] [solid blue rectangular box, in which: publisher’s emblem] | [five-rule device, as at top].

Price: $3.00. Number of copies unknown. Published 7 September 1945 in white dust-jacket printed in black, red and gold-brown.

Notes: Impressions: 2nd 1945, 3rd, 1945. Greenwood Press issued a photographic facsimile of this edition in 1979.

Reference: Mason/1988, p. 5.

A57b.l. Second English edition ([1951]):

Collation: [A]16 B–S16, 288 leaves.

p.[1] THE GOLDEN FLEECE; p.[2] Pocket Library series title-page; p.[3] title-page; p.[4] edition and printing notices; p.[5] quotation (6 ll.) from Diodorus Siculus; p.[6] list of maps, tables, and illustrations; pp.[7] – [8] CONTENTS; pp.[9] 10–35 INTRODUCTION; p.[36] INVOCATION; pp.[37] 38–560 text, with pp.[50, 65, 77,89,107,108,118,130,140,148, 159,174,182,191, 203, 212, 220, 228, 235, 246, 254, 267, 277, 287, 295, 301, 311, 319, 326, 335, 349, 360, 372, 384, 393, 404, 413, 425, 437, 448, 458, 469, 478, 488, 498, 507, 519, 522, 532, 544] being unnumbered and pp.[48–49, 64, 172, 272–273, 392] containing maps and illustrations and being unnumbered; pp.561–576 HISTORICAL APPENDIX.

17.0 × 11.0 cm. Bulk: 2.4/ 2.8 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed. White wove endpapers, first and fourth sides green. Bound in cream cloth printed in brown in an overall design of brown spheres and leaves between 5-rule diagonals. A brown band, 2.2 cm. in height, runs across both covers and spine, below which is a second brown band 1.6 cm. in height which runs across both covers and spine. Front cover: [in gold, on brown band:] THE GOLDEN | FLEECE | [in gold, on brown band:] ROBERT GRAVES; spine: [in gold, on brown band:] THE | GOLDEN | FLEECE | [in gold on brown band:] ROBERT | GRAVES | [rule] | CASSELL; back cover: as front, except without text.

Price: 7s.6d. Number of copies undetermined. Published in May 1951 in cream dust-jacket printed in brown and black as covers.

Note: This is number 61 in the Cassell Pocket Library series.

A57c. Second American impression ([1957]):

[at right, facing spine, from top to bottom:] ROBERT GRAVES | [3 ll. flush left:] HERCULES | MY SHIPMATE | GROSSET & DUNLAP ∙ NEW YORK | [at right, facing spine, from top to bottom:] Grosset’s UNIVERSAL Library

Collation: 240 leaves, glued at spine.

Remainder as A57b, except p. [1] publisher’s advertisement, pp[ii]–[iii] are front endpaper maps of A57b, p.[iv] map in black, p.[vi] has copyright and printing notices, pp. [466] – [467] are rear endpaper maps of A57b.

20.2 × 13.4 cm. Bulk: 2.2 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed. Bound in white paper covers printed in red, blue and black.

Price: $1.25. Number of copies undisclosed. Published 22 April 1957.

Notes: This book is Grosset’s Universal Library no. UL-19.

Three issues or impressions of this book have been seen. In the earliest, the covers are as described above. The inner front and back covers are blank. The publisher’s advertisements on. p. [1] list Universal Library titles UL-1 through UL-24.

In the second, the book is bound as described above. The inner front and back covers are blank. The publisher’s advertisements on. p. [1] list Universal Library titles UL-1 through UL-48.

In the third, the covers are printed in blue, pink and black. The inner front and rear covers are printed in a floral pattern in light and dark grey. The publisher’s advertisements on. p. [1] list Universal Library titles UL-2 through UL-96, omitting UL-12 and UL-16.

A57d. Third American impression ([1957]):

Collation: [1]–[15]16, 240 leaves.

Remainder as A57c, except p.[i] 25 A57b, p.[vi] copyright and printing notices.

Price: $4.50. Number of copies unknown. Published in August 1957 in white dust-jacket printed in black, brown and orange.

Note: This was reissued in 1982 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in paperback (number N686) at $8.95. Cover deign by Honi Werner. There was a second impression in 1984 priced $9.95.

A57e. Second American edition ([1966]):

[2 ll. left of center:] HERCULES, | MY SHIPMATE | [flush left:] ROBERT GRAVES | [series emblem] PYRAMID BOOKS ∙ NEW YORK

Collation: 232 leaves, glued at spine.

p.[1] blurbs; p.[2] blank; p.[3] title-page; p.[4] publication and publisher’s notices; p.[5] quotation from Diodorus Siculus, with translation; pp.[6] – [10] maps; p.[11] Contents; p.[12] table of contents; p.13 Invocation; p. [14] blank; pp. 15–463 text, with p.[26] being blank and pp. [252]–[253] being genealogical tables; p.[464] publisher’s advertisements.

18.0 × 10.5 cm. Bulk: 2.1 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed and stained orange. Bound in white paper covers printed in gold, red, green, brown and black.

Price: $0.85. Number of copies undetermined. Published 15 April 1966.

A57f. Third English edition ([1983]):

Collation: [1] –[20]12, 240 leaves.

p.[i] THE GOLDEN FLEECE | [publisher’s emblem]; pp.[ii]–[iv] maps; p.[v] title-page; p.[vi] publisher’s, copyright, rights reservation, printer’s, BL card and ISBN notices; p.[vii] quotation from Diodorus Siculus with translation; p.[viii] blank; pp.[ix]–[x] CONTENTS; p.[xi] invocation; p.[xii] blank; p.[1] HERCULES, MY SHIPMATE; p.[2] blank; pp.3–445 text; p.[446] blank; pp.447–464 Historical Appendix, with pp.[456]–[457] being genealogical tables; p.[465] blank; pp.[466]–[467] map; p.[468] blank.

21.4 × 13.6 cm. Bulk: 2.4 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed. Bound in white paper covers printed in black, white, red and light brown; ‘The Pyrrhic Dance’ by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema is reproduced on front.

Price: £4.95. Number of copies undetermined. Published early in 1983.

Notes: The contents say that the ‘Invocation’ appears on p.[2] but it is actually on p.[xi], p.[2] is blank.

In 1989 Arena (an imprint of Century Hutchinson) published an impression in paper covers priced £4.95.

A57g. Fourth English edition (2003):

p. [i] The Golden Fleece; p. [ii] blank; [plate, back blank, facing title-page]; p. [iii] title-page; p. [iv] publisher’s copyright, printer’s and, edition notices, credit for Introduction, Illustrations and Maps; pp.v-vi Contents; p.vii Illustrations; p.viii Maps; pp. ix-xiv Introduction; p.xvii quotation (8 ll.) from Diodorus Siculus; p.xviii blank; pp. xix-xxvii Author’s Introduction; pp. [xxviii-xxix] genealogical table; pp.xxx-xlii Author’s Introduction continued; p. [1] Invocation; p. [2] blank; pp.3-433 text, with p. [14] blank, p. [60] maps; illustrations face pp. 23, 38, 70, 87, 135, 150, 214, 231, 294, 311, 375, 390, 407, 422; pp. [434]-[438] blank.

Collation: [i-iv] v-vii [viii] ix-xvi [xvii-xix] xix-xxvii [xxviii-xxix] xxx-xlii [1-2] [3-13] [14] 15-59 [60] 61-433 [434-438], 240 leaves.

24.5 × 15.5 cm. Bulk: 3.3/3.8 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed; blue endpapers, outer sides with maps printed in black. Bound in green cloth; back blank; front stamped in black and gold with the images of a ram, dolphins and ancient Greek sailing ship; spine with recatangle in gold with bottom ending as a ram’s fleece, upon which in black: Robert | Graves | [rule] The | Golden | Fleece | [at bottom, in black:] Folio | Society

Price: Undeterined. Number of copies unknown. Published in 2003 in cardboard slipcase covered in green paper.

Note: Impressions: 2nd , 2004; 3rd, 2006.

A57h. Fifth English edition ([2011]):

[all flush left:] ROBERT GRAVES | The Golden Fleece | [publisher’s emblem] | PENGUIN BOOKS

p. [i] PENGUIN MODERN CLASSICS | The Golden Fleece | [biographical sketch of Graves] ; p. [ii] blank; p. [iii] title-page; p. [iv] publisher’s, copyright, rights reservation, printer’s, ISBN and paper sourcing notices; p. [1] [within a rectangular box with decorative ends:] THE GOLDEN FLEECE; p. [2] INVOCATION; pp. [3]4-386 text, with pp. [3, 12, 21, 30, 39,48, 53, 60, 69, 76, 82, 90, 101, 107, 114, 123, 130, 136, 142, 147, 155, 161, 171, 178, 184, 190, 195, 203, 209, 214, 221, 231, 239, 248, 257, 263, 271, 278, 287, 296, 304, 312, 320, 327, 334, 341, 348, 353, 359, 370, 375, being unnumbered]; p. [387] blank; pp. [388-389] genealogical table; pp. [390-393] maps; pp. [394-396] publisher’s advertisements.

Collation: 200 leaves, glued at the spine.

19.8 × 12.7 cm. Bulk: 2.5 cm. White wove paper; all edges trimmed. Bound in white paper covers printed in pale grey, medium grey, black and orange.

Price: £14.99. Number of copies undetermined. Published 1 December 2011.

Notes: Issued in the publisher’s Modern Classics series. This edition excludes Graves’s ‘Historical Appendix.’

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