MoLI is home to ‘Copy No. 1’, the first edition of Joyce’s Ulysses, which contains an inscription from Joyce to his patron Harriet Shaw Weaver, dated 2 February 1922, the day of publication (and Joyce’s birthday). Weaver donated it to the National Library of Ireland 30 years later.
Ulysses is considered to be one of the most important novels ever written and a significant literary landmark – but why? Looking at this iconic object, you might wonder what is it about this book that makes it so special. There’s only one way to find out – by reading Ulysses yourself! So why don’t you?
Characterised by the handmade Dutch paper used for the original 100-copy run, the exterior of the book tells a story all of its own. The iconic blue colour, dubbed ‘Greek-flag blue’ by Joyce, was one painstakingly selected by Myron Chester Nutting, and was lithographed onto plain white paper in order to appease the perfectionist author. The blue and white colour scheme was to allude to Greece, in tribute to Homer’s Odyssey, which served as the blueprint for Joyce’s own epic.
