ULYSSES
PROSPECTUS
U LYS S E S James Joyce
thorn willow pre s s 2021
W
e a re p l ea sed to a nn ou nce the Thornwillow Centennial Edition of James Joyce’s iconic novel, Ulysses. Join us as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of this literary masterpiece by presenting three ways for readers to engage with the text. We are creating editions that are beautiful, accessible, and enduring, designed to fulfill Joyce’s original publication trajectory and celebrate the novel’s legacy. At a staggering 265,000 words, readers usually encounter Joyce’s work in a single door-stopping volume of challenging text made much more so by tiny, often illegible type. This was not always the case—Ulysses started to make its first appearance as installments in a modernist literary magazine called The Little Review. Tragically, because of the close-minded attitudes of the day, Ulysses in installments was doomed from the start, and the publication plans were crushed by obscenity laws. Aggressive censorship scared off more than one book publisher, leaving the manuscript in the untested but capable hands of Sylvia Beach, the American proprietor of the popular Paris bookshop, Shakespeare & Company. Beach launched the first edition of Ulysses in 1922 by subscription. Interestingly, this is the same publication model that Thornwillow Press has used for the past three-and-a-half decades.
Unlike Beach’s massive, single volumes, the Thornwillow Centennial Edition presents Ulysses in three formats, ensuring that readers the world over, experienced Joyceans and first time readers alike, will be inspired by Joyce’s iconic words now and for years to come. As established collectors already know, Thornwillow Press is noted for meticulously produced handmade books that celebrate great art and great ideas. All editions of Ulysses are handcrafted at the press in Newburgh, New York, with volumes available in a range of bindings: ten volume installment sets & four volume box sets, including a limited selection of full-leather and jeweled bindings inspir-ed by Joyce and iconic characters from his novel. INS TA L L MENT EDITIONS The Installment Editions will realize Joyce’s original publication plans by bringing out the novel in ten volumes over the course of the centennial year. These volumes are letterpress printed in sewn bindings with paper wrappers. PATRON EDITIONS A series of Patron Editions will present the novel in beautifully bound four volume box sets that celebrate and preserve Joyce’s legacy. These volumes are letterpress printed and bound in cloth,
B LO OMSYEA R MA RATHON EDI T ION The Virtual Yearlong Reading presents the entire novel through a series of hundreds of video clips that unite readers—actors, singers, writers, artists, scholars, collectors, and more—across the world in a tapestry of recordings that will be free and accessible to all. The Thornwillow Centennial Edition of Ulysses features handsome typography, letterpress printing, and handcrafted bindings. All Editions are typeset in Requiem, a new font designed by celebrated type designer Jonathan Hoefler, based on the 16th century letter forms of Nicholas Jenson. By presenting Ulysses in multiple volumes, our readers will enjoy a pleasurable reading experience with large, readable type and generous, elegant margins. Patron Editions will also feature four iconic portraits of Joyce, one in each volume. Each final volume of Patron Edition sets will be individually numbered and signed by publisher Luke Pontifell. To order copies of Ulysses, and for information on other titles in our collection, please email the press at mail@thornwillow.com, call (845) 569-8883, or visit our website at www. thornwillow.com. “Ulysses is a book that’s associated with difficulty, where in fact it should be associated with joy.” STEPHEN FRY