Signed by James & Lucia Joyce A Cosmological Fairytale ...

Hammer

€11,000

Signed by James & Lucia Joyce

A Cosmological Fairytale of Dublin Joyce (James) The Mime of Mick, Nick and the Maggies. A Fragment of Work in Progress [i.e. Finnegans Wake]. MCMXXXIV [1934], Servire Press, The Hague, tall 8vo blue cloth gilt, in illus. d.w. and glassine over wrapper. Initial letter and tailpiece in seven colours and cover in three colours, all by the author's daughter Lucia. No. XX of 29 copies on Similie Japon of Van Gelder Zonen. Signed at rear by both James and Lucia Joyce. There was also an unsigned edition of 1,000 copies. Uncut and unopened, in fine condition. The glassine over wrapper rumpled and torn, the d.w. a little creased at the upper back, otherwise almost immaculate. As is well known, Lucia Joyce had mental health issues, and spent most of her adult life in an institution. There has been some criticism of her treatment by relatives, but there is little doubt that her father (who had many problems of his own) did all he could to encourage her artistic talents through ventures such as this. 'In this cosmological fairytale of Dublin, the poet presents in nuce his vision of the childhood of mankind, lifting the local elements into universal relationships of Swiftian humour and magic symbolism'.

Provenance: From the collection of Joyce's friend, Thomas Pugh. (1)