I have what I think is a first edition of Gontran De Poncins’ Kabloona, published in 1941. Wiki claims that it was a Time-Life Book Of The Month selection in 1941, but there is nothing to indicate that the edition I have is part of that program. On the title page the publisher is listed as Reynal & Hitchcock-NewYork, and nothing I’ve found online indicates they published anything for the Book Of The Month Club at any time. What am I missing here?
From abebooks:
Time Life reprinted the book circa 1980.
Mine would correspond with #4 and #5 on that page.
#4 is a softcover printed in 1971
So, maybe he has two different editions.
Sorry-#5 and #6.
It’s a great non-fiction book about Poncins’ adventures living among what were then called “Eskimos”. He illustrated the book himself, and the photos in the book are astounding.
This Wiki on Gontran de Poncins also indicates that the 1941 first edition I have was put out by Time-Life.
Are the boards blue or grey? The true 1st ed has grey boards and the 1941 Time-Life edition has blue boards.
Also, the T-L edition measures 5.5’’ x 8’’ but the true 1st is about 7.75’’ x 9.75’’.
5.8" x 8.5", blue boards. Thank you.
Okay, Open Library indicates there have been seven editions. Time Life did the two in 1965 and 1980, and Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc. (which went out of business in 1948), did the first three. The versions by Time Life would say “Time Life special edition” and have a new introduction by Lewis Galentiere. The 2nd and 3rd editions by R&H were probably just new printings rather than new editions, and the 1980 was probably a reprint of the 1965 edition. The French edition came out in 1991, not 1947 as mentioned in the Wiki quote.
All the 1st editions from 1941 on abebooks and alibris show Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc. as the publisher.
There is also a 1941 T-L edition on Abebooks with the characteristics described above (blue vs grey boards and different measurements). This edition also lists Reynal & Hitchcock as the publisher.Here’s the listing.
Mine is hardcover.
Huh, I hadn’t noticed that the linked example was a softcover.
How many pages?
It may not be Time-Life, but might just be the Book of the Month club edition as described here.
Sometimes BOMC editions have a tiny dot printed on the very inside of one of the last few pages. You’d have to open it up wide and look almost in the spine to find it. Not all do, but it’s one way to ID them.
339 pages, followed by photographs-no dot.
The 339 pages matches the BOMC edition.
Looks like you’ve nailed it. Great book, by the way.