William Faulkner, Mosquitoes | Liveright c. 1966 | Rare Inverted Binding Error
An exceptionally interesting copy of William Faulkner's second novel, combining a striking vintage Liveright dust jacket, a remarkably well preserved hardcover, and an unusual publisher's binding error in which the entire text block was cased into the binding upside down and reversed.
The dark blue cloth binding is particularly attractive, with bright gilt lettering to the spine and Faulkner's name and decorative device stamped in gilt on the front board. The boards remain clean and handsome with only light evidence of age and handling. Overall, the book itself presents in Very Good Plus to Near Fine condition.
What makes this copy especially unusual becomes apparent as soon as the correctly oriented front cover is opened. Instead of the beginning of the novel, the reader encounters the final page of the book upside down. The entire text block has been bound in this inverted orientation. The pages themselves were printed correctly; rather, the completed text block appears to have been inserted head for tail when it was cased into the publisher's cloth binding.
This is a genuine binder's or manufacturing error, not simply inverted spine lettering or an isolated printing mistake. The correctly oriented gilt stamping on both the front board and spine makes the error particularly dramatic and easy to demonstrate.
The book retains its fabulous illustrated Liveright dust jacket, reproducing the memorable period design depicting the novel's yacht going characters around a card table. The bold salmon, blue, black and cream artwork gives this edition tremendous shelf presence. The jacket remains complete and attractive, with expected age toning, rubbing, edge wear and wear at the spine ends, particularly at the head. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.
The jacket is itself useful in dating this issue. The rear flap gives Liveright's address as 386 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016, while the rear panel advertises George Moore titles in Liveright's Black & Gold Library at $5.95. These details point to a mid 1960s issue, likely circa 1966, despite the copyright page carrying the original 1927 copyright and 1955 renewal dates.
The jacket front flap identifies Mosquitoes as a "New Edition" and carries the printed price/code "349."
A particularly appealing copy for the Faulkner collector, collector of publishing anomalies, or anyone interested in the physical history of bookmaking. We have not encountered another example of this Liveright issue with the complete text block bound in this inverted orientation.
