University of Virginia Library

Bibliographical Notes on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned
by
Matthew J. Bruccoli

Although Collectors and Dealers Have Long Recognized the existence of a crux in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned (1922), the situation has been confused by the inexact application of bibliography using guesswork in place of analysis. When the copies of the novel are examined closely, the problem resolves itself.[1]

Let us first look at the account as it now stands. Depending upon which catalogue one consults, two states or issues or variants of the first impression are said to exist, presumably resulting from the stop-press addition of the Scribner seal to the copyright page. The so-called second state has two additional leaves at the end of the novel, but these cannot be accounted for by any stop-press theory.

The crucial, overlooked fact is that these two forms of the novel are gathered differently—the one without the seal is in 8's; that with the seal is normally in 16's. Thus we are dealing with a concealed impression. This is supported by the Scribner records, which indicate delivery of two pre-publication impressions. The only way by which the existence of two states of the first impression could be established is the discovery of a copy gathered in 8's, with the seal but without the extra leaves. No such copy has come to my attention,[2] and there is no reason to suppose that one exists.

The priority of either of these pre-publication impressions cannot be established with any real certainty. But from the fact that subsequent impressions retain the seal and the extra leaves and are bound in 16's, it seems likely that the impression in 8's without the seal precedes the impression in 16's with the seal. The only copy available at the Library of Congress has been rebound, but its copyright page is without the seal.

Binding states (that is, variants in the form of the casing) are of almost no bibliographical significance and should never be used to differentiate impressions; however, since collectors have given some attention to the binding variants of The Beautiful and Damned, no harm will be done by discussing them. The second impression includes two binding states, one

in the standard Scribner B cloth, the other in FL cloth.[3] The FL-cloth binding state exists in two substates.[4] Substate A, which has the normal second impression make-up, is fairly common; the preliminary matter is in a gathering of 8 leaves, and the text is gathered in 16's. Substate B must be extremely rare. It is a composite made up of three gatherings from the first impression and 24 gatherings from the second impression. In order to avoid duplicate pages, two leaves had to be cancelled in the 16-leaf third gathering.[5]

First Impression

• Copyright page: COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY / CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS / [rule] / Published March, 1922 / [rule] / COPYRIGHT. 1921, 1922, BY THE METROPOLITAN PUBLICATIONS, INC. / PRINTED AT / THE SCRIBNER PRESS / New York, U. S. A. Collation: [unsigned: 16 2-298], 230 leaves, pp. [i-x] [1-2] 3-449 [450]. No advertisements. B cloth.

Second Impression

• Copyright page: COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY / CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS / [rule] / Printed in the United States of America / [rule] / Published March, 1922 / [rule] / COPYRIGHT, 1921, 1922, BY THE METROPOLITAN PUBLICATIONS, INC. / [Scribner seal].
• Binding State 1 Collation: [unsigned: 18 2-1516], 232 leaves, pp. [i-x] [1-2] 3-449 [450-454]. pp. [451-452] have advertisements for the 12th printing of This Side of Paradise and the 5th printing of Flappers and Philosophers. B cloth.
• Binding State 2, Substate A Same collation; same advertisements. FL cloth.
• Binding State 2, Substate B Collation: [unsigned: 18 216 316 (—15, 16) 4-278], 230 leaves, pp. [i-x] [1-2] 3-449 [450]. Two leaves cancelled after p. 66; this does not affect the pagination. No advertisements. FL cloth.

Although no textual alterations were made in the plates of The Beautiful and Damned, an interesting textual problem was introduced when the novel was republished in 1958. Since the original plates had been destroyed, and since the publisher wanted to avoid the expense of re-setting the novel, the new copies were manufactured by photo-offset. Before the pages of the book were photographed, 78 corrections were made in the text by pasting the printed corrections over the offending lines or by opaquing out some of the hyphens.[6] By strict application of the vocabulary of bibliography, the 1958 photo-offset copies represent only another impression (though a revised one) of the first edition of 1922, for they reproduce the original setting of type.

Textual Collation

                                                                         

"Published March, 1922"		"AA 2-58 [MH]"
p. 7	drawing-room	drawing room
p. 22	dinner-coat pockets	dinner coat pockets
p. 24	opera-cloaks	opera cloaks
p. 27	waiting-room	waiting room
	waiting-room	waiting room
p. 36	carroming	caroming
p. 37	Divine function	Divine Function
p. 53	dressing-gown	dressing gown
	semilegible	semi-legible
p. 54	fetich	fetish
p. 67	ticket-desk	ticket desk
	dinner-parties	dinner parties
	Sunday-night "concerts"	Sunday night "concerts"
p. 76	subway-station	subway station
p. 83	motion-picture actress	motion picture actress
p. 86	vermuth	vermouth
p. 92	tennis-ball	tennis ball
p. 93	tennis-ball	tennis ball
p. 96	side-show ballyhoo	side show ballyhoo
	dressing-room	dressing room
p. 97	side-how	side show
p. 124	maple-syrup	maple syrup
p. 125	fox-terrier	fox terrier
	fox-terrier	fox terrier
p. 131	sandwich-man	sandwich man
p. 132	geranium-plants	geranium plants
p. 137	swimming-pools	swimming pools
p. 141	mid-Western	Mid-Western
p. 144	table-drawer	table-drawer
p. 154	firing-squad	firing squad
p. 156	night-clerk	night clerk
p. 156	how,	how
p. 159	night-clerk	night clerk
	night-clerk	night clerk
p. 172	house-parties	house parties
	swamp-maples	swamp maples

                                                                                   

	swamp-maples	swamp maples
p. 174	living-room	living room
p. 182	drinking-glass	drinking glass
p. 185	dinner-dances	dinner dances
p. 193	moving-picture magazines	moving picture magazines
	car-window	car window
p. 195	good night	good-night
p. 197	railroad-tickets	railroad tickets
p. 198	ticket-office	ticket office
p. 217	living-room	living room
p. 219	milk-bottles	milk bottles
	milk-bottles	milk bottles
	milk-bottles	milk bottles
p. 240	cigar-smoke	cigar smoke
p. 245	railroad-bridge	railroad bridge
	railroad-bridge	railroad bridge
p. 257	steam-engine	steam engine
p. 261	living-room	living room
p. 263	post-cards	post cards
p. 273	love-song	love song
p. 280	wonder-palaces	wonder palaces
p. 318	wrong-size shoes	wrong size shoes
p. 319	well policed	well-policed
p. 320	tent-door	tent door
p. 323	wild-rose hedges	wild rose hedges
p. 336	less-exacting medical examiner	less exacting medical examiner
p. 350	barber-shop	barber shop
p. 356	powder-box	powder box
p. 366	tea-table	tea table
p. 376	wine-table	wine table
p. 383	office-building	office building
p. 387	fountain-pens	fountain pens
p. 393	mail-box	mail box
p. 395	living-room	living room
	telephone-receiver	telephone receiver
p. 397	leopard-skin coat	leopard skin coat
p. 411	motion-picture palaces	motion picture palaces
p. 421	apartment-house	apartment house
p. 425	living-room	living room
p. 431	loan-offices	loan offices
p. 437	green-plush carpet	green plush carpet
p. 447	wheel-chair	wheel chair

Notes