Trimalchio and the Great Gatsby
ARCHIVED ONLINE EXHIBIT
Archived October 13, 2013
Selected and annotated by Matthew J. Bruccoli
Prepared for web-mounting by Patrick Scott and Mila Tassev
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Archived Online Exhibit ................................................................................................................................. 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Island 1 .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Island 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Island 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Island 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Island 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
INTRODUCTION
1
Introduction
A facsimile of Trimalchio galleys and the first edition of The Great Gatsby
The Matthew J. and Arlyn Bruccoli Collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald at the Thomas Cooper
Library has strong holdings documenting the composition, reception, and reputation of The
Great Gatsby. This small exhibition features some of the high spots. The exhibit marked
publication in April 2000 of theTrimalchio galleys in facsimile, by USC Press and Thomas
Cooper Library, with an afterword by Professor Bruccoli. For the main F. Scott Fitzgerald
pages, and for more information about the Bruccoli Collection, click here.
ISLAND 1
A newly-discovered Fitzgerald letter about theThe Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald to Charles Baldwin, ALS, late April/early May 1924: "My third novel (unpublished)
is just finished + quite different from my other two in that it is an attempt at form. . . ." A
facsimile, transcription, and brief commentary on this important new letter has been
included with the USC Press Trimalchio facsimile.
The Trimalchio galleys forThe Great Gatsby
Trimalchio (New York: Scribners, 1925). The only set of the unrevised galleys for the
unpublished text of The Great Gatsby.
The newly-published facsimile of theTrimalchio galleys
Trimalchio (Columbia: Thomas Cooper Library and University of South Carolina Press,
2000). Facsimile edition of the galleys, afterword by Matthew J. Bruccoli; limited to 500
copies. More information about this edition and other USC Press Fitzgerald books is
available through the Fitzgerald home pages.
ISLAND 2
First editions of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribners, 1925). The first printing of the first edition.
A. First printing of the dust jacket, with the lower-case "j" in
B. Second printing of the dust jacket, with "Jay."
C. Third printing of the dust jacket, with review comments.
"Jay" hand-corrected.
First British editions
The Great Gatsby (London: Chatto & Windus, 1926). The first British printing of the first
edition, showingthree states of the dust jacket:
A. In earliest state of the dust jacket; on front flap: '7 S. NET'..
B. Remainder dust jacket with price altered to 2/6. Author's inscribed presentation
copy to Edwin Barret.
C. Remainder dust jacket with price altered to 2/-.
ISLAND 3
In a reprint series (and discontinued)
The Great Gatsby (New York: Modern Library, 1934), with an introduction by F. Scott
Fitzgerald. Inscribed by Fitzgerald to Michael "Micky" Balcon, the producer of "Yank at
Oxford." Second copy stamped "Discontinued title."
Magazine serialization
The Famous Story Magazine, 3 (April-August 1936). Post-publication serialization of The
Great Gatsby.
Newspaper condensation
Chicago Herald-Examiner (23 May 1937). A cut version of The Great Gatsby appeared in
Sunday newspaper supplements.
British magazine republication
Argosy, 22 (August 1937). The Great Gatsby was reprinted in a single issue of this British
pulp magazine.
ISLAND 4
The Great Gatsby in wartime
The Great Gatsby (Armed Services Edition # 862 [1945?]). This paperback
edition of the novel was distributed gratis to members of the military during
World War II.
The first mass-market edition and movie tie-in
The Great Gatsby (New York: Bantam, 1945). The first commercial paperback
edition of the novel; a dust jacket was placed on unsold copies to promote the 1949
movie.
A British post-war reprint and movie tie-in
The Great Gatsby (London: The Grey Walls Press,1948). Second UK edition, 1948;
a band was added over the dustjacket in 1949, promoting the novel as "The book of
the film".
A US post-war reprint and movie tie-in
The Great Gatsby (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1949). As first issued and with
band added to promote the 1949 film.
A young poet's reading of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1949). Sylvia Plath's copy with
her annotations.
ISLAND 5
Scholarly editing
The Great Gatsby, ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli (Cambridge, New York & Melbourne:
Cambridge University Press, 1991). The first volume in the Fitzgerald critical
edition.
A new reference work
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A Documentary Volume, ed. Matthew J.
Bruccoli (Detroit: Bruccoli Clark Layman/Gale Group, 2000).Dictionary of Literary
Biography: 219.