First American edition, the illegally printed "Medvsa" edition
Publisher and Year: New York: Medusa / Medvsa, MCMXXXX (1940)
Edition: First American edition, wrappers issue. The novel was banned in the United States from its publication until 1961 and remained legally challenged until 1964, when the Supreme Court finally deemed it not to be obscene. Until this point, access to the novel in America depended on smuggling of the 1930s French editions and then, in 1940, an illegal printing operation in New York headed by Jacob Brussel. The printer added a decoy line at the end of the book that it was produced in Mexico to throw off authorities. Miller knew about and approved the edition, though he feared his involvement would lead to legal troubles if the operation were uncovered. Brussel wrote to him that if arrested, he would stay quiet and take all of the blame, a promise that he would later keep. Unsurprisingly, the statement that the book was printed in Mexico did not fool authorities. Brussel was arrested, tried, and sentenced to three years in prison.
One thousand copies were issued in green cloth, with an additional 200–500 sets of unbound sheets given to the infamous book pirate, Samuel Roth, as compensation for his help in funding the illegal printing operation. Roth bound these sheets in cloth or plain wrappers, with nine variants formally documented (no priority of these Roth variants is established). (Shiffreen and Jackson A9s)
Condition and Description: Octavo, plain blue wrappers, 324 pp. Securely bound. A few gutters very slightly over-opened. Some tanning, soiling, staining, and creasing to the wrappers. Top-left corner of the rear wrapper missing. Pages lightly tanned but clean, with an erased price in pencil to the front free endpaper and "200" written in pencil to the first page of text.
"This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty...what you will. I'm going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing."
Inventory ID: 025 - 648 - 655
First American edition, the illegally printed "Medvsa" edition
Publisher and Year: New York: Medusa / Medvsa, MCMXXXX (1940)
Edition: First American edition, wrappers issue. The novel was banned in the United States from its publication until 1961 and remained legally challenged until 1964, when the Supreme Court finally deemed it not to be obscene. Until this point, access to the novel in America depended on smuggling of the 1930s French editions and then, in 1940, an illegal printing operation in New York headed by Jacob Brussel. The printer added a decoy line at the end of the book that it was produced in Mexico to throw off authorities. Miller knew about and approved the edition, though he feared his involvement would lead to legal troubles if the operation were uncovered. Brussel wrote to him that if arrested, he would stay quiet and take all of the blame, a promise that he would later keep. Unsurprisingly, the statement that the book was printed in Mexico did not fool authorities. Brussel was arrested, tried, and sentenced to three years in prison.
One thousand copies were issued in green cloth, with an additional 200–500 sets of unbound sheets given to the infamous book pirate, Samuel Roth, as compensation for his help in funding the illegal printing operation. Roth bound these sheets in cloth or plain wrappers, with nine variants formally documented (no priority of these Roth variants is established). (Shiffreen and Jackson A9s)
Condition and Description: Octavo, plain blue wrappers, 324 pp. Securely bound. A few gutters very slightly over-opened. Some tanning, soiling, staining, and creasing to the wrappers. Top-left corner of the rear wrapper missing. Pages lightly tanned but clean, with an erased price in pencil to the front free endpaper and "200" written in pencil to the first page of text.
"This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty...what you will. I'm going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing."
Inventory ID: 025 - 648 - 655
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