Reading, Smashing, and Playing Ulysses
Leopold Bloom's Bookshelves
Someone has rearranged Leopold Bloom's books. You can drag them to create your own ordering or click on the encircled "i" on any spine to read about the volume and its presentation in Ulysses. In some cases, you can even read digital editions of the books (or books much like them).
In the novel, the bookshelf's contents appear in response to the questioning narrator of "Ithaca" (U 17), who commands, "Catalogue these books" (U 17.1361). The answering narrator dutifully produces a list, and the reader can imagine that the entries in the list would neatly rotate themselves, one entry per book, onto Bloom's shelves, to be read much like the words on the page.
We found, however, that creating a digital version of the bookshelf revealed the fissures in the textual representation of the shelf. Three of the entries have titles listed in "Ithaca" that would likely not be visible to the viewer: one book's title is obliterated, another book has a missing cover, and a third occupant of the shelf is a sewn pamphlet that would probably not have had a title on the spine. Even at this basic level, one cannot judge these books by their covers. Another title turns out to be a two-volume set, so one entry in Joyce's catalog becomes two on our shelf. Other books, such as Thoughts from Spinoza, seem to be generic rather than specific titles in Joyce's time, and still others are fictional.
In other words, this project might appear to be a simple translation of form, a conjuring of one page of Ulysses as an annotated visual model. In fact, working on the project made us keenly aware of the folly of such translation, or at least its necessary incompleteness, in the light of the playfulness of Joyce's approach to catalogs and lists.
-
Thom's
Dublin
Post Office
Directory
1886Thom's Dublin Post Office Directory, 1886. (U 17.1362)
Thom's Dublin Post Office Directory, 1886 could be one of two possible registers, “The Post Office Directory and Calendar for 1886” or “Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for 1886 Post Office Dublin City and County Directory” (Gifford 588)—however, either alone simultaneously overshoots and leaves Joyce’s rendering of the title incomplete—or it could be a symbolic amalgamation of both. While Thom’s Official Directory had more extensive offerings (Gifford 588), each directory would have catalogued businesses, private citizens, government, and the elite.
A deeply practical thing to find on someone’s bookshelf, Thom's Dublin Post Office Directory, 1886 was not purchased to impress guests. Bloom’s version probably comprised no more than 70 pages, the approximate size of both The Post Office Directory and Calendar for 1886 and Thom’s Official Directory (Worldcat). The utilitarian directory of uncertain identity, itself, ironically, a tool for researching the identities of other Dubliners and Dublin establishments, stands in uneasy juxtaposition to more showy, intellectual commodities on Bloom’s shelf, for example, the “goldtooled” and “dark crimson morocco” of Shakespeare's Works (U 17.1365), which tend to feature authors or biographical subjects whose reputations precede them.
Link to an edition of this text (for 1851)
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Find My Past. "The Post Office Dublin Directory and Calendar, 1858," n.d. http://www.findmypast.com/articles/world-records/full-list-of-the-irish-family-history-records/newspapers-directories-and-social-history/the-post-office-dublin-directory-and-calendar-1858.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Thom, Alexander. Thom’s Irish Almanac and Official Directory, with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, for the Year 1851 Comprising, with Other Information, I. British, Colonial, and Parliamentary Directory. II. Statistics of Ireland. III. Ecclesiastical Directory. IV. Law Directory. V. Banking Directory. VI. Postal and Conveyance Directory. VII. County Directory. VIII. Borough Directory. IX. Post Office Dublin City and County Directory. Dublin: A. Thom, printer and publisher, 1851. -
M'Carthy's
Poetical
WorksDenis Florence M'Carthy's Poetical Works (copper beechleaf bookmark at p. 5). (U 17.1363)
“Denis Florence M'Carthy's Poetical Works” is another book that does not exist. As an Irish Catholic poet and professor known for translating Spanish literature (Kennedy), Denis Florence MacCarthy seems an appropriate author for a book on the Blooms’ bookshelf. However, there is no indication that MacCarthy ever wrote a book entitled Poetical Works. His published poetry includes Ballads, Lyrics and Poems (1850), Under-Glimpses (1857), and The Bell-Founder (1857) (Gifford 588).
Richard Wall, author of “Bloom’s Bookmarks,” couches Denis MacCarthy’s work Poems, printed posthumously in 1884, as the reference intended by “Poetical Works” (MacCarthy). He goes so far as to argue that the bookmarked poems on page four and five of Poems—”The Seasons of the Heart” and “Kate of Kenmare”—hold special meaning for Bloom. While Wall’s best-guess argument is intriguing, his theory rests on an impossible verification of Joyce’s intention. Another theory is that Denis Florence M'Carthy's Poetical Works might refer to one of the many volumes left in Joyce’s own library. Consider Robert Burns’ The Poetical Works, which was owned by James Joyce and kept in his Zurich library (Gillespie 94). It is perhaps from a combination of the reality of Burns’ book, and/or a dozen others with similar titles, and MacCarthy’s authorship that the concept of “Denis Florence M'Carthy's Poetical Works” originates.
Although Joyce gives no description of Poetical Works, he does mention a “copper beechleaf bookmark” (U 17.1363). This bookmark may be a literal copper-colored beech leaf: reddish brown, oval shaped, and doubtlessly functional as a bookmark. Alternatively, the bookmark could be copper and shaped like a beech leaf. Such ambiguity, between an artifact of nature and an industrial knick-knack that reproduces a vestige of nature, may be a microcosmic manifestation of the novel’s larger thematic critique of urban life, capitalist economics, and commodity culture.
Link to a copy of Denis Florence MacCarthy’s Poems
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Gillespie, Michael Patrick. Inverted Volumes Improperly Arranged James Joyce and His Trieste Library. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1980.Kennedy, Thomas. "Denis Florence MacCarthy." In The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.McCarthy, Denis Florence, and John MacCarthy. Poems [Ed. by J. MacCarthy]., 1884. -
Shakespeare's
WorksShakespeare's Works (dark crimson morocco, goldtooled). (U 17.1365)
Described as “dark crimson morocco, goldtooled” (U 17.1365), Bloom’s copy of Shakespearean works sounds like a book suited as much to ornamentation as to reading. This is hardly surprising, as the inclusion of Shakespeare in any British (or, for that matter, English language) library is almost a cultural requirement. As with “Plumtree’s Potted Meat” (U 17.597) a home without Shakespeare is woefully “Incomplete” (U 17.598). The generality of the collection’s actual title, Works, draws “Shakespeare’s” authorial commodity value into focus, while also suggesting that the volume represents a monolithic sum of knowledge about William Shakespeare and his writings. For a man like Bloom, ever curious and conscientious, such a high-profile, culturally-entrenched book would probably not be left unopened. Yet, given his partial mastery of most information, and his proclivity toward scientific brands of knowledge, it seems likely that Bloom’s understanding of Shakespeare would be less than comprehensive. We might even consider Works to be less Bloom’s book and more Stephen’s, a counterpart to Rudy’s Child’s Guide.
For a man like James Joyce, however, interest in Shakespearean knowledge, both literary and biographical, was personal, professional, and thoroughly extensive. In fact, while writing Ulysses, Joyce consulted almost twenty books on Shakespeare and his works, such as William Shakespeare: A Critical Study to Shakespeare's Heroines (Gillespie 97-99). To better understand what Joyce might have envisioned in or about Shakespeare’s Works, click below to view the complete list of Shakespeare sources Joyce consulted during the project.
An example of Shakespeare’s Works
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gillespie, Michael Patrick. Inverted Volumes Improperly Arranged James Joyce and His Trieste Library. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1980. -
The Useful
Ready
ReckonerThe Useful Ready Reckoner (brown cloth). (U 17.1366)
Gifford describes The Useful Ready Reckoner as “Unknown” (588). Joyce may have been referring to an edition of Daniel Fenning’s The Ready Reckoner or The Trader’s Most Useful Assistant, also known by the longer title The ready reckoner, or, Trader's most useful assistant, in buying and selling all sorts of commodities either wholesale or retail: shewing at one view the amount or value of any number or quantity of goods or merchandise from one farthing to twenty shillings, either by the long or short hundred, half hundred or quarter, pound or ounce, ell or yard, &c. &c., in so plain and easy a manner, that persons quite unacquainted with arithmetic may hereby ascertain the value of any number of hundreds, pounds, ounces, ells or yards, &c. at any price whatever . . . (Worldcat).
With a variety of printers and publishing dates, from 1774 to 1795, this “useful assistant” can be found in several physical forms. In Ulysses it is described with the phrase “brown cloth” (U 17.1366), which may refer to its cheap cloth-lining (Glossary A-G). Though, presumably, one would employ the Reckoner to reach a level of economic standing above such cheaply-made products, the “brown cloth” may indicate a durable, carry-everywhere advantage, more than it connotes low-class quality. Alternative descriptions of existing copies can be found here.
Bloom is a “trader” of sorts, spending the majority of June 16th trying and failing to sell ad space. The placement of The Useful Ready Reckoner on Bloom’s bookshelf may speak to the appeal that a “useful” assistant who could interface with customers “in so plain and easy a manner” would have for Bloom, who is as convoluted and opaque in his business interactions as he is with his wife, Molly. That Bloom would prefer to look to a book for help, rather than consulting a human business associate, is characteristic of his social awkwardness. Further, the economic calculations and measurements laid out in the elongated version of the title suggest that the Reckoner would probably appeal to Bloom’s personal interests in valuation and capitalist comfort, even aside from its professional utility.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Fenning, Daniel. "The Ready Reckoner, or, Trader’s Most Useful Assistant, in Buying and Selling All Sorts of Commodities Either Wholesale or Retail Shewing at One View the Amount or Value of Any Number or Quantity of Goods or Merchandise from One Farthing to Twenty Shillings, Either by the Long or Short Hundred, Half Hundred or Quarter, Pound or Ounce, Ell or Yard, &c. &c., in so Plain and Easy a Manner, That Persons Quite Unacquainted with Arithmetic May Hereby Ascertain the Value of Any Number of Hundreds, Pounds, Ounces, Ells or Yards, &c. at Any Price Whatever ...," 1774.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Publisher’s Bindings Online, 1815-1930. "Glossary A-G," 2008 2005. http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/glossary1.html. -
The Secret
History
Of The
Court Of
Charles IIThe Secret History of the Court of Charles II (red cloth, tooled binding). (U 17.1367)
The Secret History of the Court of Charles II appears to refer to a book that actuality entitled The Secret History of the Court and Reign of Charles II (Gifford 588). Published in 1792 and written by a member of the Privy Council, this volume details and contextualizes Charles II’s mark on history, including the proceeding civil war, his rule as king, and the legacy he left behind (The Secret History). Joyce’s omission of Charles II’s “Reign” from the title makes its focus sound slightly more plural and less authoritarian, but the shift is merely euphemistic, as any “Court” requires its ruler. This revision may thus be a minute illustration of Stephen’s authorial realization that: “in [my thoughts] it is that I must kill the priest and the king” (U 15.4437).
As the first reinstated monarch after England’s civil war and Protectorate, Charles II is an interesting choice for an Irish bookshelf. Religiously, he might be a sympathetic figure for ambiguously-converted Bloom, since Charles II worked to re-establish the Protestant Church of England, tried and failed to establish religious freedom, and converted to Catholicism on his deathbed (Charles II (r. 1660–1685), Official website of the British Monarchy). Furthermore, the image of Charles II’s father, the beheaded king, makes a disturbing cameo appearance in “Wandering Rocks” when Stephen describes Dilly’s face to that of Charles I (U 10.858).
In addition to the its altered title, The Secret History of the Court of Charles II of Ulysses also departs from its real-life referent in that historically, the book appears to have been printed as a two-volume set. Here, we confront the space between a reader’s understanding of Bloom’s bookshelf and the bookshelf’s imagined appearance. Although two-volume books are sometimes bound as one, it is unclear from Joyce’s vague description whether both volumes are indeed present, merged on Bloom’s bookshelf, or if the singular mention signals an incomplete set. By contrast, Joyce explicitly describes Bloom’s The History of the Russo-Turkish War, farther down on the shelf, as a two-volume set.
Joyce characterizes The Secret History of the Court of Charles II as a book bound in a “red cloth” (U 17.1367), which would probably have been some type of starched linen. The “tooled binding” (U 17.1367), however, refers to an etched ornamental design more common on leather-bound books (AbeBooks).
Link to an edition of this text
Archive.org volume 1 Archive.org volume 2
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.The Secret History of the Court and Reign of Charles the Second,. London: Printed by T. Gillett, for J. Bew, 1792. -
The
Child's
GuideThe Child's Guide (blue cloth). (U 17.1368)
Gifford begins his description of The Child’s Guide with the frustrated observation that “[t]itles that begin with this phrase are legion” (588). The vagueness of Joyce's title leaves devoted readers scrambling to decide if books like The Child’s Guide to Devotion (London, 1850) or The Child’s Guide to Knowledge; being a collection of useful and familiar answers on everyday subjects; adapted for youngsters. By a Lady (London, 1878) (Gifford 588) sound like literature Leopold Bloom would own.
Perhaps a more fruitful understanding of the presence of The Child's Guide comes not from nailing down precise referent, but rather from the implications of its purchase. A Child’s Guide is a book that worried parents buy their children, and most titles like this are structured by religious and moral overtones. For example, The Child’s Guide to Knowledge...By a Lady includes a catechism-like introduction that asks such rote questions as “Question. What is the world made of? Answer. The earth we live on.” This question and answer format looks much like the narrative style of “Ithaca”; such a structure presumes that delivery of bite-size verdicts will be practicable and satisfactory, though Joyce employs this model ironically (U 17). Furthermore, the “blue cloth” (U 17.1368) description probably refers to a starched linen bound book (AbeBooks), likely intended for a boy. This book, then, seems to be for and about the deceased Rudy Bloom, by whom Leopold and Molly are constantly troubled. The pedantry of Bloom’s Child’s Guide has apparently done little to steer him through his ten-year mourning period—unsurprising in context of “Ithaca”’s mockery of catechistic benefit, with its long winded, unhelpful ‘answers.’
Link to The Child’s Guide to Knowledge; being a collection of useful and familiar answers on everyday subjects; adapted for youngsters. By a Lady
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.By a Lady. The Child’s Guide to Knowledge; Being a Collection of Useful and Familiar Answers on Everyday Subjects; Adapted for Youngsters; and Arranged in the Most Simple and Easy Language. 46th ed. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., 1878.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. -
The
Beauties
of
KillarneyThe Beauties of Killarney (wrappers). (U 17.1369)
The Beauties of Killarney is another book whose exact determination is as dubious as its general existence is assured. Though there is no perfect historical match for the title, its vague popular topic ensures many like-titled contenders for Bloom’s bookshelf, such as the 1806 A view of the most striking beauties and curiosities of the Lake of Killarney (Jones) and the 1851 Picturesque Guide to the Lakes of Killarney. The Picturesque Guide to the Lakes of Killarney is of special interest because, as Susan Bazargan writes, “the title ‘The Beauties of Killarney’ appears not on the title page but on the first page — used almost as a chapter heading — except that the ‘chapter’ is the whole book [...] the heading repeated on every other page” (Bazargan 1). If Picturesque is indeed the book at hand, our understanding of titles, subtitles, chapters, and truncation becomes complicated: an organizational onomastic chaos that relates to themes of disrupted and uncontained hierarchies elsewhere in the novel (see, for example, the Letters and Phonemes Topical Essay).
Killarney, located in Southwest Ireland, appears seven times across Ulysses. Its more interesting moments include a description in the style of a guidebook—perhaps an example of the Uncle Charles principle, as Killarney is a popular tourist destination (U 12.51)—and an allusion to the “Lilies of Killarney” (U 6.186), referencing the Irish musical The Colleen Bawn.
Physically, Joyce indicates that the book has “wrappers,” a paper covering that slips on over a paperback book or pamphlet for protection from wear and tear, like a homemade book-jacket (Abebooks.com). It is one of only five books on Bloom’s bookshelf that is not described in terms of color.
Link to an edition of this text
Reprint (2011) of the original 1851 edition of The Picturesque Guide to the Lakes of Killarney
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Bazargan, Susan. "SEARCHING FOR VOYAGES IN CHINA BY VIATOR: SOME POSSIBLE SOURCES." Hypermedia Joyce Studies, no. Special Prague Symposium (2011 2010).Jones, John. A View of the Most Striking Beauties and Curiosities of the Lake of Killarney. Dublin: by J. Jones ..., 1806.Picturesque Guide to the Lakes of Killarney. Dublin, 1851. -
When We
Were BoysWhen We Were Boys by William O'Brien M. P. (green cloth, slightly faded, envelope bookmark at p. 217). (U 17.1370)
First printed in 1890, When We Were Boys is a “fenian adventure” and romance that deals with issues of land reform and Irish independence (Murphy 1). The author, William O’Brien, was an Irish politician who often agitated for land reform and home rule, within and outside of his literature (Personal Papers). Often jailed for protesting, O’Brien wrote When We Were Boys while incarcerated. James H. Murphy, in his article “William O’Brien’s When We Were Boys: a New Voice From Old Conventions”, describes the novel as “the voice of an emergent Irish Catholic intelligentsia” (Murphy 1).
Joyce may have included When We Were Boys on Leopold Bloom’s bookshelf for a number of reasons. O’Brien was an important figure in the Irish nationalist movement (Personal Papers) and a close friend of Charles Parnell, a strong metempsychotic presence in Ulysses. O’Brien’s entire life works would certainly have been relevant to Bloom and 1904 Dublin, but the romantic and sensational aspects of When We Were Boys may have held particular appeal for Molly, given her proclivity toward erotic romance novels, as well as Bloom. Bookmarked page 217, though, takes a serious tone in describing one of the principal characters, Neville, and his growing camaraderie with the poor Irish—which we might liken to Bloom’s developing relationship with Stephen. In addition to confronting poverty, page 217 considers race and the use of Gaelic for the common Irishman, themes that recur throughout Bloomsday (O’Brien 217).
A “green cloth” book, When We Were Boys probably had a starched linen cover. The green color of the cover compliments its nationalist Irish content, and the “[slight] fading” may speak to frequent use in the Bloom household (U 17.1370).
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Cork City and Council Archives. "Personal Papers: O’Brien, Sophie, Wife of William O’Brien, M.P.," n.d. http://www.corkarchives.ie/collections/personalfamilyandliterarypapers/obriensophiewifeofwilliamobrien/.Murphy, James H. "William O’Brien’s When We Were Boys: A New Voice from Old Conventions." Irish University Review 22, no. 2 (Autumn-Winter 1992): 298–304. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25484510.O’Brien, William. When We Were Boys. London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1890. -
Thoughts
from
SpinozaThoughts from Spinoza (maroon leather).(U 17.1372)
Thoughts from Spinoza may be an artificially-specific title Joyce is using to allude to Spinoza’s work as a whole, or it may be a specific book whose title Joyce has now generalized. Either way, its subject is undoubtedly Spinoza. Born in 1632 Amsterdam to Portuguese-Jewish parents, Bento or Baruch Spinoza grew to be one of the most important philosophers of the 17th century. His highly rational and heretical work on the scriptures led to his excommunication from his Jewish community and blacklisting from the Catholic Church (Nadler). Spinoza’s “systematic and unforgiving critique of the traditional philosophical conceptions of God” (Nadler) might appeal to Bloom’s vaguely Jewish, previously protestant, technically Catholic understanding of God. At the very least, Bloom would enjoy entertaining Spinoza’s ideas.
We should note that Spinoza’s parentage is very similar to Milly and Rudy’s; furthermore, the philosopher’s rationality, paired with his exclusion from multiple religious communities, sets up a strong parallel to Bloom, while Spinoza’s scrutiny of Catholic scripture may remind us most of Stephen Dedalus. This convoluted network of similarity positions Spinoza as a sort of muddied consubstantial Trinity nexus, with Bloom-Spinoza cast in the role of Father, but with Rudy-Spinoza and Stephen-Spinoza ambiguously inhabiting the roles of Son and/or Ghost.
Made of “maroon leather” (U 17.1372), Thoughts from Spinoza would be an expensive and well bound book. The book’s maroon color is closely related to the crimson of Shakespeare’s Works, and both share an ornamental feel, which is somewhat ironic, given that both authors (or at least their sentiments) permeate Ulysses. Moreover, the ornamental binding of Thoughts from Spinoza garners additional irony if we consider that Spinoza lived a purposefully simple life, spending much of his time arguing against the power material objects have over us (Nadler).
Link to The Philosophy of Spinoza
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Nadler, Steven. "Baruch Spinoza." In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Fall 2013., 2013. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/spinoza/. -
The Story
of the
HeavensThe Story of the Heavens by Sir Robert Ball (blue cloth). (U 17.1373)
The Story of the Heavens by Sir Robert Ball is probably the most current work on the bookshelf, since it was published in 1900, only four years prior to Bloomsday. The book includes diagrams and illustrations to help explain complex astrological concepts (Ball). The author, Sir Robert Ball was a professional lecturer and astronomer, born in Dublin. He later moved to Cambridge, England for a position as director of the city’s observatory (Gifford 160).
Alan Jacobs, in his article “Joyce and the Internet: What Leopold Bloom Didn't Know,” points out that The Story of the Heavens discusses parallax and, in plain terms, describes exactly how the phenomenon functions (1). It seems unlikely that Bloom has not read The Story of the Heavens as, in “Lestrygonians”, he correctly remembers the book’s title and author, connecting the work to the subject of parallax (U 8.109-13). This suggests that not only can everything Bloom wants to know about parallax be found on his bookshelf, all this knowledge is likely already somewhere in his head. However, due to a lack of confidence or clarity, Bloom still feels he does not understand, or at least does not remember, the details of parallax.
Bound in blue cloth, The Story of the Heavens was probably covered in linen or the heavier buckram and then starched (AbeBooks). With 568 pages, “24 colored plates,” and additional illustrations (Ball), by early 20th century pop-science standards, the book would have been just as “fascinating” (U 8.110) as Bloom describes.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Ball, Robert S. The Story of the Heavens,. London, Paris, New York & Melbourne: Cassell and company, limited, 1900.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Jacobs, Alan. "Joyce and the Internet: What Leopold Bloom Didn’t Know." The Atlantic, February 2, 2012. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/joyce-and-the-internet-what-leopold-bloom-didnt-know/252341/. -
Ellis's Three Trips to Madagascar (brown cloth, title obliterated). (U 17.1374)
William Ellis’s book, Three visits to Madagascar during the years 1853-1854-1856. Including A Journey to the Capital; With Notices of the Natural History of the Country and of the Present Civilisation of the People, was first published in London, 1858 (Gifford 588). Ellis was an English Congregationalist Missionary who, through his writing, became the “standard authority on the island in the nineteenth century” (Gifford 588). Joyce has a realistic excuse for misremembering the proper title of Three Trips to Madagascar, as the book’s title, unfortunately, has been “obliterated” (U 17.1374). Luckily, the remaining “brown cloth” of the book is a sensibly humble, conservative housing for the text’s religious platform. This is a rare example of unhypocritical Christian practice, in contrast to the typical behavior of the novel’s Catholic frontmen, like Father Conmee.
Bloom’s interest in faraway lands may explain the inclusion of Three Visits to Madagascar to his bookshelf. The book expands not only his collection’s geographic diversity, but also its religious diversity, since we see the Congregationalist Missionary’s outlook filed alongside a gamut of Catholic, Christian and Jewish-influenced content.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. -
The
Stark-
Munro
LettersThe Stark-Munro Letters by A. Conan Doyle, property of the City of Dublin Public Library, 106 Capel street, lent 21 May (Whitsun Eve) 1904, due 4 June 1904, 13 days overdue (black cloth binding, bearing white letternumber ticket). (U 17.1375-78)
The Stark Munro Letters by Arthur Conan Doyle was first published in 1895. Its story unfolds through a sequence of 16 letters written by Stark Munro, a doctor at the beginning of his career, “to his friend and former fellow-student, Herbert Swanborough” (Conan Doyle). Semi-autobiographical, the format of Munro Letters allowed Conan Doyle to expound personal beliefs by depicting middle class Victorian Britain as filtered through (his own) subjective experience (Conan Doyle).
Already famous for his Sherlock Holmes books, any work by Conan Doyle seems a fairly unremarkable addition to the bookshelf. Still, in Bloom’s case we should consider the presence of this novel significant, despite Conan Doyle’s popular omnipresence, since the use of letters for narrative form resonates with Bloom’s anxious interest in sending and receiving letters.
With the exception of a dash inserted between “Stark” and “Munro” (U 17.1375) The Stark-Munro Letters is accurately identified by its title and author. Furthermore, the book’s description is one of the most complete of those on Bloom’s bookshelf. Not only is the reader made aware that someone in the Bloom household checked out The Stark-Munro Letters on May 21st, but a due date of June 4th is also given; such decisive information about beginnings and endings, so rare in Ulysses, is thwarted only by our knowledge that the book has failed to complete its cycle and is now overdue. Interestingly, the book is late the same number of days that it was lent—13. By including redundant and irrelevant details, like that May 21 of 1904 is “Whitsun Eve,” and the name and address of Dublin’s public library, Joyce expands the sense that more information does not necessarily imply an increase in understanding or cooperation.
The book’s “black cloth binding” (U 17.1378) probably describes a starched linen cover. The “white letternumber ticket” might be Joyce’s description of a library receipt, still tucked inside the checked out book, in which case the ticket acts as another reminder that The Stark-Munro Letters does not really belong to Bloom. Here, Joyce may be divesting Bloom of his Letters much as Bloom dispossesses his letters to Martha by signing a fake name.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Stark Munro Letters. Fairfield, IA: 1st World Library, 2004. -
Voyages
in
ChinaVoyages in China by "Viator" (recovered with brown paper, red ink title). (U 17.1379)
Voyages in China, like so many of Bloom’s books, does not refer to any one specific work. Instead, this title brings to mind a set of several important late 19th century Western studies on China and the East. Susan Bazargan, in her essay “Searching for Voyages to China by Viator: Some Possible Sources,” argues that the wording of the title—Voyages in China—may indicate “the work of a translator” because explorers do not take voyages in countries, but rather to them (1). She believes possible sources for the fictional, translated Voyages include “Souvenirs dʼun voyage dans la Tartarie, le Thibet, et la Chine pendant les années 1844, 1845 et 1846 by the two Lazarist missionaries Evariste Régis Huc [...] and Joseph Gabet” and “LʼEmpire Chinois” by Evariste Régis Huc (2) . Importantly, LʼEmpire Chinois was “part of the Thom collection,” from the same printer as Thom’s Official Directory (Bazargan 3).
We face a similar confusion in trying to pin down an author for Voyages in China. Joyce rightfully places “Viator” in quotations, as Viator was a popular contemporary pseudonym, taken by a variety of different authors who wished for their writing to remain anonymous (Gifford 124). Ulysses Annotated suggests that E.F. Chidell, a Presbyterian missionary and author, may well be the author of Voyages. If this is the case, Voyages in China and Three Trips to Madagascar may be of similar genres.
Bloom’s interest in the East, expressed throughout Ulysses, explains Voyages in China’s place on Bloom’s bookshelf. Unlike many of his other books, Bloom actually references Voyages in an earlier chapter, musing that he “read in that Voyages in China that the Chinese say a white man smells like a corpse” (U 6.982-83).
Joyce’s description of Voyages as “recovered with brown paper” (U 17.1379) probably means that the book has been re-covered with brown paper. Alternatively, the book may have been literally recovered, from a street, a wastepaper basket, or simply an uninterested reader. In either case, its brown color marks another consistency between Voyages and Three Trips.
Link to an example of a travel book to China
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Bazargan, Susan. "SEARCHING FOR VOYAGES IN CHINA BY VIATOR: SOME POSSIBLE SOURCES." Hypermedia Joyce Studies, no. Special Prague Symposium (2011 2010).Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. -
Philosophy of the Talmud (sewn pamphlet). (U 17.1380)
Philosophy of the Talmud is yet another unspecific work on Bloom’s bookshelf. Its vague title makes it unclear whether this literature serves as a piece of propaganda, an informational packet, or some mixture of the two. Joyce leaves the authorship similarly in question—we’re given no indication of whether this source was written by a cultural insider or an observant, potentially critical outsider.
These issues of content and authorship are further complicated by the fact that Philosophy of the Talmud is a “pamphlet” (U 17.1380). Denoting “a small separate work issued in paperwraps” (AbeBooks), the term “pamphlet” assumes a sort of informality contrary to the publication commitment (and accompanying rigamarole) of bound books. As a pamphlet, Philosophy of the Talmud is probably shorter than most traditional literary works, and in some sense meant for temporary use. Furthermore, pamphlets are “often polemical in nature” (Glossary P-Z) and come from more grass-roots movements. Due to their informal, controversial nature, pamphlets are “sewn” (U 17.1380) or stapled by whatever special interest group sponsors the work (Glossary P-Z).
At first glance, the addition of Philosophy of the Talmud to Bloom’s bookshelf seems natural. The Talmud, “a compilation of ancient teachings regarded as sacred and normative,” including the Mishnah, Gemara, and “auxiliary texts” (Britannica), is a pivotal text in the Jewish faith. Moreover, the Talmud transcribes much of the formal oral tradition on laws, “define[es]” the Torah, and is influential in Orthodox Judaism (Britannica). Bloom’s heritage and interest in religions would make the work pertinent to his life, even if Bloom is not a practicing Jew. However, by giving Bloom the Philosophy of the Talmud, Joyce makes the conscious decision not to give Bloom the actual, unadulterated Talmud. Instead, Bloom has a pamphlet of undetermined content, which may very well present a heavily-interpreted philosophy of the Talmud. We can perhaps understand this artifact of Jewish thought as interpreted by others to well befit Bloom, who is constantly characterized as Jewish, albeit only through the (mis)interprentation of others.
Link to an English translation of the Talmud
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Publisher’s Bindings Online. "Glossary P-Z," 2008 2005. http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/glossary3.html."Talmud and Midrash (Judaism) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Accessed August 2, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581644/Talmud-and-Midrash/. -
Lockhart's Life of Napoleon (cover wanting, marginal annotations, minimising victories, aggrandising defeats of the protagonist). (U 17.1381-82)
Lockhart’s Life of Napoleon was first printed in 1832 as Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, in Which the atrocious Deeds, Which He Has Perpetrated in order to Attain His Elevated Station, Are Faithfully Recorded; by Which Means Every Britain Will Be Enabled to Judge the Disposition of His Threatening Foe; and Have a Faint Idea of the Desolation Which Awaits This Country, Should His Menace Ever Be Realized. The book was renamed in an 1885 revision as the History of Napoleon (Gifford 589).
The author, John Gibson Lockhart, was a Scottish critic, novelist, and biographer. Lockhart is primarily known for his biography of his father-in-law, Sir Walter Scott, a Tory novelist who made significant contributions to both Scottish and English literature. Aside from these biographical projects, which he undertook later on in his career, Lockhart wrote for Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine and critiqued poetry (Britannica).
By 1904 Lockhart was a well established, if antique, British author. His work would be respectable enough for any educated bookshelf, and interesting enough for Bloom’s in particular. The factual, but also fear-mongering content of the Life of Napoleon may have appealed to Bloom’s both intellectual and sensational curiosities. Themes of empire and imperialism speak to the currents of English/Irish conflict in Ulysses, but since England is cast as the victim rather than the oppressor, this book may represent the same sort of radical perspective shift effected by the final narrative pivot to Molly’s vantage point (U 18).
Life of Napoleon appears to be well worn, perhaps indicating that Napoleon’s threat to Britain is another subject that Bloom may have spent long hours considering and reconsidering. The book itself may hold multiple views, as Joyce’s description does not make it clear whether it is the printed content of Life of Napoleon or the annotative commentary which “minimi[ize] victories” and aggrandi[ze] defeats of the protagonist” (U 17.1382). Moreover, it is difficult to guess who might be “the protagonist” in a book that explicitly villianizes the “atrocious” Napoleon Bonaparte.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008."John Gibson Lockhart (Scottish Biographer) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Accessed August 2, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/345818/John-Gibson-Lockhart. -
Soll Und
HabenSoll und Haben by Gustav Freytag (black boards, Gothic characters, cigarette coupon bookmark at p. 24). (U 17.1383-84)
First printed in 1855, Soll und Haben (“Debit and Credit”) was one of many well-regarded books written by Gustav Freytag. The novel “studies the impact of the industrial revolution on middle class Germans” (Gifford 58)—for Bloom, an appealing combination of economics, foreignness and modern culture. Further, as an object of display, Soll und Haben’s notoriety would make it an easy conversation starter for the intellectual but socially awkward Bloom. However, Soll und Haben has a strong anti-semitic tone that problematizes Bloom’s ownership and enjoyment of the text (Gifford 589).
The book’s “black bloards” (U 17.1383) refer to “the stiff binding material” which is generally used in most contemporary hard-back books (AbeBooks). The antiquity of Soll und Haben’s “Gothic characters” (U 17.1383) stand in contrast to this modern binding. Aside from this asynchronicity, the most interesting part of the description is the “cigarette coupon bookmark” (U 17.1383-84). This bookmark creates a problem for the reader because it seems unclear whether this bookmark is Bloom’s or Milly’s. By “Ithaca” (U 17), the reader knows that Bloom smokes the “odd cigarette” (U 5.225) and has quite a few things to hide. When Bloom rearranges his bookshelf and muses about the “the insecurity of hiding any secret document behind, beneath or between the pages of a book” (U 17.1413-14) he may thus be considering his own need to conceal. However, there is no way of determining whether Bloom considers the “insecurities” of hiding things in books because of his own experiences with failed stealth, or because he has found the coupon and knows it belongs to Milly. “Penelope” (U 18) highlights the possibility that Milly is the perpetrator, as the reader hears from Molly that Milly smokes and has unsuccessfully attempted to hide it.
If the cigarette coupon is Milly’s, our understanding of Soll und Haben, and Bloom’s books generally, is unmoored. Despite our assumptions that bookmarks, wear and tear, and Bloomish subject matter signal his frequent consultation of the bookshelf, this choice of hiding place may indicate that Bloom rarely reads, or even opens, the books on his bookshelf. At the very least, it means that Milly thinks that Bloom rarely reads his books. Another possibility is that Milly has read (or is reading) Soll und Haben and chooses it because of its familiarity and convenience, since her hidden vice can also actually save her place. If this is true, then Bloom and Molly have misjudged the interests and temperament of their daughter. And, if Milly has been involved with the bookshelf—especially as a reader, but also even just as a stasher—she becomes our prime suspect for the mysterious rearrangement of the books.
Seeing Milly as the reader also changes the effect of the anti-semitic themes in Soll und Haben. Joyce gives little indication in Ulysses that Milly is seen by Dublin society as Jewish. Even by strict Jewish standards Milly is not technically a Jew, as Judaism is supposed to pass down through the matriarch. (We should note, though, that by these standards Bloom is also not a Jew.) Thus, Milly’s reading of Soll und Haben may not include any resistance to the novel’s anti-semitism. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine that Leopold Bloom, fellow Jew to Spinoza and Mendelssohn (U 12.1814), has not shared his beliefs with his daughter.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. -
History
of the
Russo-
Turkish
War
V. 1Hozier's History of the Russo-Turkish War (brown cloth, 2 volumes, with gummed label, Garrison Library, Governor's Parade, Gibraltar, on verso of cover). (U 17.1385-1386)
Written by Col. Sir Henry Montague Hozier, the History of the Russo-Turkish War is an abbreviated title for the longer The Russo-Turkish War: including an account of the rise and decline of the Ottoman power, and the history of the Eastern Question (Gifford 589).
The Russo-Turkish War refers to the ongoing, if sporadic, armed conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire from 1676-1878. Beginning with Russia’s interest in gaining a port on the Black Sea, the fighting ended with the Treaty of Berlin, which placed serious sanctions on Russia’s armed forces. By then, however, the Ottoman Empire had largely fallen out of power, while Russia had gained both land and power (Britannica).
Hozier’s longer title is surprisingly apropo, as Bloom spends a great deal of Ulysses pondering an “[e]astern question” of his own (Gifford 589). Bloom’s daydreams, though they don’t tend to involve Russia specifically, do focus on an exoticized East, with especial consideration of the “Agendath Netaim: planters' company”’s scheme to “purchase [...] sandy tracts from Turkish government and plant with eucalyptus trees” (U 4.191-93). Another personal-historic link for Bloom is to his father-in-law, Major Tweedy. Major Tweed not only “frequently remembered” an unnamed battle described in the volumes, he also lived in Gibraltar, where the History of the Russo-Turkish War was originally checked out (U 17.1385-86, 1416). In this way, the History of the Russo-Turkish War is both a suitably intellectual book that fits Bloom’s foreign interests and something of a family artifact.
The History of the Russo-Turkish War is the only two volume set explicitly labeled as such in the catalogue. It is also described as the largest work in Bloom’s collection (U 17.14-14-15). However, as a library book, the History of the Russo-Turkish War was probably not selected for any ornamental properties. The “brown cloth” (U 17.1385) indicates a starched linen binding, reminiscent of a few other foreign studies on Bloom’s shelf, while the “gummed label” (U 17.1386), or sticker, seems to hold the Garrison Library’s name and information on the back cover. Some sort of theft or resale must have been involved in getting this book all the way from a library in Gibraltar to Bloom’s household bookshelf. This brings up questions of ownership and pathways of exchange, leading us to wonder how other books on Bloom’s shelf ended up there—were they obtained legally or illegally, new or used, as gifts or as purchases, and by whom?
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008."Russo-Turkish Wars (Russo-Turkish History) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Accessed August 2, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514064/Russo-Turkish-wars. -
History
of the
Russo-
Turkish
War
V. 2Complete online text available here at Internet Archive, courtesy of University of Toronto. -
Laurence
Bloomfield
in IrelandLaurence Bloomfield in Ireland by William Allingham (second edition, green cloth, gilt trefoil design, previous owner's name on recto of flyleaf erased). (U 17.1388-1390)
Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland by William Allingham was first printed in 1864 and again in 1869 (Gifford 589). As a “second edition” (U 17.1388), Bloom’s copy of the book was probably part of the run printed in 1869, retitled Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland; or, The New Landlord. Both editions were written as a full length narrative poem comprised of heroic couplets (Gifford 589).
A poet and editor, William Allingham “has sometimes been dismissed as a minor versi-fier who preferred writing about Ireland to living there,” particularly by other notable poets like Yeats (Tracy 354). However, Allingham’s work was often lyrically and commercially successful, if cliche. In Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland, an ambitious, though relatively unsuccessful piece, Allingham described an Irish landlord who “observ[ing] the misery of his tenants, decides to dismiss his harsh bailiff and take charge of the estate himself” (Tracy 354). Roberty Tracy, in his critique of the work, argues that it “is less a novel than a series of vivid set pieces,” and that in the end, Allingham could not believe in the idealistic Ireland he created (354-355).
The significance of Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland to Bloom’s bookshelf is manifold. Most obvious is the play on names Joyce sets up between protagonists Leopold Bloom and Laurence Bloomfield. Moreover, both Allingham and Joyce were attempting to capture a snapshot of the Ireland they knew, while distancing themselves—Allingham in a custom-house post in England, and Joyce in “Triest-Zurich-Paris” (U 18.1610)—and their perspectives, taking a detached tone that suggests the Irish are ‘them’ rather than ‘us.’ Bloom’s interest in the book may have stemmed from the author’s like-minded idealistic, social reformist attitude toward Ireland. Furthermore, he may have identified with Bloomfield, since the landlord is, like Allingham and “like Bloom...at once Irish and a kind of outsider in Ireland” (Tracy 355).
Although Bloom’s copy of Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland is a second and second-hand edition, it still serves as an excellent display piece for his bookshelf. The “gilt trefoil design” described by Joyce would create a stylized clover design (Trefoil)—a prominently charge in heraldic tradition and, like the “green” of the cover, a stereotypical symbol of Ireland—applied in metal to the book’s cover or spine (AbeBooks). The “recto” (U 17.1390), or “right-hand page” (AbeBooks), of the “flyleaf” (U 17.1390), or the front matter of the book, once held the name of the book’s previous owner, again raising issues of ownership and attainment. That the name has been “erased” (U 17.1390) suggests the possibility of revision, perhaps a lucky allowance to fix mistakes, but also the terrifying possibility of replacement; both themes are significant, recurring anxieties in Bloom’s marriage.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Merriam-Webster. "Trefoil," n.d. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trefoil.Tracy, Robert. "Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland, I Vol. William Allingham The Cock and Anchor, Being a Chronicle of Old Dublin City, 3 Vols.; The House by the Church-Yard, 3 Vols; The Purcell Papers, 3 Vols. J. Sheridan Le Fanu." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 38, no. 3 (1983): 354–57. https://doi.org/10.2307/3044614. -
A
Handbook
of
AstronomyA Handbook of Astronomy (cover, brown leather, detached, 5 plates, antique letterpress long primer, author's footnotes nonpareil, marginal clues brevier, captions small pica). (U 17.1391-93)
A Handbook of Astronomy is quite possibly the most generalized title on Bloom’s bookshelf. This book is not, like Thoughts From Spinoza, referring to nebulous works of a nevertheless specific historical figure. Nor does it use a common phrase, like The Child’s Guide, to denote a particular brand or tone of book, even as the precise subject remains unclear. Instead, A Handbook of Astronomy is literally a handbook of Astronomy. The indeterminacy of its initial article serves to characterize this title as a whole, which, besides that its contents explain some aspect(s) of astronomy, conveys little to no specific information.
Joyce compensates for its underwhelming title by giving a patronizingly thorough description of A Handbook of Astronomy’s physical appearance. This handbook has a “cover” (U 17.1391) mentioned so specifically that a comma separates it from the “brown leather” (U 17.1391) of which it is presumably made. The five “plates” (U 17.1391)—full page illustrations printed separately from the rest of a book (AbeBooks)—are probably the “detached” objects Joyce describes, despite that these two bits of information are also separated by a comma (U 17.1391). However, it could be that the “cover” (U 17.1391), preceding, is the “detached” element in question, or even that both the cover and the plates are detached, perhaps explaining the comma placement. The book’s “antique letterpress long primer” (U 17.1392) probably means that A Handbook of Astronomy was produced on an antique printing press; the text itself, “author’s footnotes,” “marginal clues,” and “captions” all seem to be rendered in different font sizes. “Long primer” (U 17.1392, presumably describing the body of the text, is a size of printer's type “approximately equal to 10 point” (long primer), while the footnotes in A Handbook of Astronomy are “nonpareil,” a French term for something without equal that was used to indicate a 6 point type (Nonpareil). “Brevier” (U 17.1393) is an 8 point type (Brevier), and “small pica” (U 17.1393) is an 11 point type (Small pica).
Bloom’s interest in A Handbook of Astronomy recalls his curiosity over parallax, forming a genre with the two other Astronomy books on his shelf. However, what most grabs the attention of the “Ithaca” narrator, and perhaps the attention of Bloom, is the book’s physical composition. It would make sense for Bloom to have a detailed understanding of typesetting and binding, as his job brings him in contact with printers, proofs, and libraries on a regular basis.
Example of an Astronomy handbook, published while Joyce wrote Ulysses
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. "Small Pica." Dictionary.com, n.d. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/small+pica.Dictionary.com Unabridged. "Brevier." Dictionary.com, n.d. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Brevier.Dictionary.com Unabridged. "Nonpareil." Dictionary.com, n.d. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nonpareil.TheFreeDictionary.com. "Long Primer." Accessed August 2, 2013. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/long+primer. -
The
Hidden
Life
of
ChristThe Hidden Life of Christ (black boards). (U 17.1394)
The Hidden Life of Christ is another religious book sitting on Bloom’s bookshelf. The title of Hidden Life hints at its controversial content, but, much like Philosophy of the Talmud, it does not reveal the contours of controversy or take any clear attitude towards the subject. But, unlike the pamphlet, this item is made of “black boards” (U 17.1394), a commonly used binding that would have been sturdier and more official (AbeBooks). This disparity may speak to the dominance (economic and social) of Catholicism in the novel’s Dublin, or it may reflect Bloom’s personal engagement with these religious philosophies. However, even this possibility is double-edged, for the Hidden Life’s formality could indicate Bloom’s higher valuation of, and thus greater investment in, Christian philosophy, or, conversely, it could indicate Bloom’s lesser pre-existing knowledge of Christianity, requiring a more hefty, authoritative source.
Having The Hidden Life of Christ on Bloom’s bookshelf is revealing, not only of a supposedly “[h]idden...Christ” (U 17.1394), but of the power and knowledge books hold. For the Blooms, this knowledge lies in Hidden Life’s pages, but, for readers of Ulysses, thematic significance lies in its very title. The idea of Christ leading a “[h]idden [l]ife” (U 17.1394) is especially interesting if considered hand in hand with Bloom’s thoughts on secrecy. Shortly before he examines the bookshelf, Bloom goes through his treasure trove of secret letters and inappropriate advertisements. Hidden away, these nic nacs serve as a vindication and distraction from Molly’s barely-hidden infidelity. As Bloom then moves on to his books, he thinks about them as hiding places, perhaps in reference to Milly’s cigarette receipt (see Soll und Haben). In this way, the entire Bloom household is found to be hiding in the space of a few pages.
Tantalizingly, there was a The Hidden Life of Christ printed in 1937 and written by Thomas Aloysius Becker (Becker). It seems impossible that this title should coincidentally appear on Bloom’s shelf, when Becker, Joyce, and the Ulysses character Patrick Dignam (the younger) all share the uncommon middle name Aloysius. Yet, unfortunately, Joyce could not have had Becker’s Hidden Life in mind here, as he finished Ulysses fifteen years prior, in 1922.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
AbeBooks. "AbeBooks’ Glossary of Book Terms," 2013 1996. http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml#backtotop.Becker, Thomas Aloysius. The Hidden Life of Christ,. New York: Apostleship of Prayer, 1937. -
In the
Track
of the
SunIn the Track of the Sun (yellow cloth, titlepage missing, recurrent title intestation).(U 17.1395-1396)
In The Track of the Sun by Frederick Dodati Thomas was actually entitled In The Track of the Sun: Diary of a Globe Trotter and was printed in 1893. Thomas, a prolific traveler, started his journey in New York and went west. He eventually made it all the way to England, but his book focuses primarily on his experiences in Eastern Asia (Gifford 72).
Bloom is both enthralled by and ultimately dismissive of Thomas’ fantastical picture of the East. He spends part of his day dreaming about a land with “dulcimers” (U 4.98) and purple moons, but then corrects himself: “probably not a bit like it really. Kind of stuff you read” (U 4.100). Clearly, Bloom has digested the imagery of In The Track of the Sun, resistant to its general orientalist message even while fascinated by its details. In The Track of the Sun may be the first book on his bookshelf that we know Bloom to critically mediate, balancing his own curious pleasure with a sense of reality.
The yellow cloth of In The Track of the Sun certainly fits with its title, perhaps to the point of mocking literalism. Whereas the “obliterated” title of Three Trips to Madagascar realistically conditions the misrendering of its title, in this case a missing “titlepage” seems not to hinder the identity of the work, glaringly enforced by its yellow cover, although an issue of “recurrent title intestation” does persist (U 17.1395-96). This “intestation” (U 17.1396), which means to be “[deprived] of the right of making a will” (intestation), may indicate Joyce’s/Bloom’s/the reader’s acknowledgement of the book’s foolishness, leading to the judgement that Thomas is unfit to write (a form of legacy similar to a will), or at least the judgement that Track should bear no intellectual legacy. This passage thus speaks to the complicated lines between authorship, ownership, readership, and credibility that Bloom must navigate within and without his bookshelf.
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.seadict.com. "Intestation English Definition/Translation." Accessed August 2, 2013. http://www.seadict.com/en/en/intestation. -
Physical
Strength
and
How to
Obtain ItPhysical Strength and How to Obtain It by Eugen Sandow (red cloth). (U 17.1397)
Physical Strength and How to Obtain It was published in 1897. The first edition had 157 pages, including several illustrations. Part one of Physical Strength is entitled “My system of physical culture” and part two, “Incidents of my professional career” (Sandow).
The author and subject of the semi-autobiographical Physical Strength and How to Obtain It, Eugene Sandow, was a professional strongman and vaudeville performer. Although he seriously harmed himself performing a stunt where he “single handedly” lifted a car from a ditch, Sandow continued to successfully advertise his book. Physical Strength was reprinted several times, a hot commodity boasting the ability to make weak men strong. His book included a step-by-step guide for body-building exercises, several of which Bloom has tried.
The two complementary parts of Sandow’s work, practical and sensational, undoubtedly catered to Bloom’s worries about competition and aging as well as his fascination with popular culture. Bloom’s interest in revision and improvement, be it inventing the tram line for animals or getting Stephen a job, fits symbolically within the ethos of Physical Strength and How to Obtain It, even though Bloom’s ideas are not always physical or self-centered.
Ironically, Joyce gives the reader little physical information about Physical Strength and How to Obtain It. The book’s “red cloth” (U 17.1397) probably means it was bound in starched linen, and may have seemed a little out of date, as the popularity of “bright or deep red” covers peaked between 1848–1860 (Glossary A-G).
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Publisher’s Bindings Online, 1815-1930. "Glossary A-G," 2008 2005. http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/glossary1.html.Sandow, Eugen. Strength and How to Obtain It. London: Gale & Polden, 1897. -
Short
but yet
Plain
Elements
of
GeometryShort but yet Plain Elements of Geometry written in French by F. Ignat. Pardies and rendered into English by John Harris D. D. London, printed for R. Knaplock at the Bifhop's Head, MDCCXI, with dedicatory epiftle to his worthy friend Charles Cox, efquire, Member of Parliament for the burgh of Southwark and having ink calligraphed statement on the flyleaf certifying that the book was the property of Michael Gallagher, dated this 10th day of May 1822 and requefting the perfon who should find it, if the book should be loft or go aftray, to reftore it to Michael Gallagher, carpenter, Dufery Gate, Ennifcorthy, county Wicklow, the fineft place in the world. (U 17.1398-1402)
Short but yet Plain Elements of Geometry was first printed in 1711, and has had a long history of reprints and revisions (Pardies). The book is not only real but a part of the British Museum catalogue. Moreover, Charles Coxworth was a Member of Parliament from Southwark in 1711, the year of original publication (Gifford 589). Short but yet Plain Elements of Geometry is the truncated form of the longer title, Short, but yet plain elements of geometry : and plain trigometry. Shewing How by a Brief and Easie Method, most of what is Necessary and Useful in Euclide, Archimedes, Apollonius and other Excellent Geometricians, both Ancient and Modern, may be Understood (Pardies).
Elements of Geometry is clearly a book meant to educate or “Shew” curious non-mathematicians (Paradies), perhaps like an antique version of our modern “Idiot’s Guide” series, proposing to painlessly satiate Bloom’s penchant for self-education, and standing in parodic contrast to Ulysses’ simple plot rendered so complex, which at times becomes quite painful to understand. Further, it aims to place the “ancient” authorities in conversation with the “modern,” in a sense that parallels Stephen’s (ambivalent) engagement with the literary corpus.
The book also explores convolutions of ownership, since it was written by one man, translated by another, printed for another, but dedicated to yet another—suggesting legitimate claims to the work for each of these actors—but was also explicitly owned by someone besides Bloom who, “if the book should be loft or go aftray,” clearly wanted it back (U 17.1404-05). These notes position the book as a product/belonging of culture and society, which cannot be accurately restricted to one man, either in terms of authorship or ownership. Although Elements of Geometry is the only example of such information laid out so comprehensively, several of the other books are also of questionable or conflicting authorship and ownership, which may ultimately lead us to reconsider our understanding of this bookshelf as Bloom’s.
The book’s “ink calligraphed statement on the flyleaf” that identifies Michael Gallagher as its first owner. This note deviates from traditional placement of such inscriptions on the title page, and brings to mind a character of shared surname but deviant first name, William Gallagher, the grocer for whom Bloom unsuccessfully tries to aquire ad space. The use of the “long s,” an s that looked like an f, throughout the book’s description is also intriguing, as the long s fell out of use long before before 1822 (Fischer et al.). However, Joyce preferred the long s, and wrote specifically to his printers to ensure that it was included in this description (Gottfried 3-4).
Link to an edition of this text
Bibliography
Some of the citations above link to the texts they reference. The complete bibliography for this bookshelf project is here.
Fischer, Andreas, Martin Heusser, Max Nänny, and Thomas Herrmann. Aspects of Modernism: Studies in Honour of Max Nänny. Gunter Narr Verlag, 1997.Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. Second revised edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.Gottfried, Roy. Joyce’s Iritis and the Irritated Text: The Dis-Lexic "Ulysses." Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1995.Pardies, Ignace Gaston. "Short, but yet Plain Elements of Geometry: ... Written in French by F. Ignat. Gaston Pardies. And Rendred into English, by Johh [Sic] Harris," 1711. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ECCO?c=1&stp=Author&ste=11&af=BN&ae=N036630&tiPG=1&dd=0&dc=flc&docNum=CW109946357&vrsn=1.0&srchtp=a&d4=0.33&n=10&SU=0LRM.———. "Short, but yet Plain Elements of Geometry and Plain Trigometry. Shewing How by a Brief and Easie Method, Most of What Is Necessary and Useful in Euclide, Archimedes, Apollonius and Other Excellent Geometricians, Both Ancient and Modern, May Be Understood. Written in French by F. Ignat. Gaston Pardies. And Rendred into English, by John Harris M.A. and F.R.S.," 1702. http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?contentSet=ECCOArticles&docType=ECCOArticles&bookId=0703500400&type=getFullCitation&tabID=T001&prodId=ECCO&docLevel=TEXT_GRAPHICS&version=1.0&source=library.