{
  "full": "\n**THOMAS HARDY. THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE. 1926–1970. (ML 121)**  \n\n#### 126a. First printing (1926)  \n\n[within double rules] THE RETURN | OF THE NATIVE | [rule] | BY | THOMAS HARDY | [rule] | [torchbearer A2] | [rule] | THE MODERN LIBRARY | PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK  \n\nPp. [*6*], xxxi–xxxiii [xxxiv], [1–2] 3–506 [507–518]. [1–16]16 [17]8  \n\n[*1*] half title; [*2*] pub. note A4; [*3*] title; [*4*] *Introduction Copyright*, *1926*, *by* | THE MODERN LIBRARY, INC. | [short double rule] | FIRST MODERN LIBRARY EDITION | 1926; [*5*] *PREFACE* signed: T. H | *July* 1895.; [*6*] blank; xxxi–[xxxiv] table of contents; [1] part title: *BOOK FIRST* | *THE THREE WOMEN*; [2] blank; 3–[507] text; [508] blank; [509] map of Hardy’s Wessex; [510] blank; [511–516] ML list; [517–518] ML subject index. (*Fall 1925*) *Note:* The copyright statement on p. [*4*] is an error; the book does not contain an introduction.  \n\n*Jacket:* Uniform typographic jacket B2.  \n\n> Text on front: 
 In this novel—which the editors of the Modern Library consider one of the greatest in the English language—Thomas Hardy reaches the high water mark of his glorious genius. There are scenes in this book, and characters, that will burn themselves into the memory of the reader, never to be forgotten; passages of writing whose sheer beauty is unsurpassed in all literature. “The Return of the Native” is dominated by the tragic overtones of the Hardy conviction of inevitability—the powerlessness of man before his fate. (*Spring 1926*)  \n\nOriginally published in U.S. by Henry Holt & Co., 1878. New bibliographical edition with Hardy’s 1895 Preface and map of Hardy’s Wessex published by Harper & Brothers, 1895; plates used for successive Harper printings, including a 1922 printing in Harper’s Modern Classics. ML edition (pp. [*5*]–[509]) printed from Harper plates. Published August 1926. *WR* 20 November 1926. First printing: 7,000 copies. Discontinued 1970/71.  \n\n*The Return of the Native* was the fourth best-selling title in the ML during the first six months of 1928. It ranked low in the first quarter of ML titles in terms of sales during the 18-month period May 1942–October 1943 and the 12-month period November 1951–October 1952.  \n\nThe ML paid Harper’s royalties of 4 cents a copy. Sales of the ML edition totaled 42,543 copies by December 1930. Printings between August 1931 and November 1939 totaled at least 24,000 copies.  \n\n#### 126b. Title page reset (1927)  \n\n[within double rules] THE RETURN OF | THE NATIVE | [rule] | BY | THOMAS HARDY | [rule] | [torchbearer A2] | [rule] | THE MODERN LIBRARY | PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK  \n\nPp. [*12*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–508]. [1–16]16 [17]4  \n\n[*1*] half title; [*2*] pub. note D5; [*3*] title; [*4*] manufacturing statement; [*5*] *PREFACE* as 126a; [*6*] blank; [*7*–*10*] table of contents; [*11*] fly title; [*12*] blank; [1]–[508] as 126a. *Note:* Page numerals removed from table of contents, fly title leaf added, map of Hardy’s Wessex omitted.  \n\n*Jacket A:* Uniform typographic jacket B. Text on front as 126a. (*Fall 1927*)  \n\n*Jacket B:* Pictorial expressionist jacket in light brown (57) and dark gray on tan paper depicting a male figure walking through a stylized landscape; lettering in dark gray. Signed: Hynd. (*Spring 1929*) *Note:* The ML experimented with several pictorial jackets in 1929 in connection with three boxed sets of three titles each that were intended for sale as Christmas gifts. The boxed sets, which were sold primarily in department stores, were *Three Great French Romances*, *Three Great Renaissance Romances*, and *Three Great Modern Novels*. Hynd’s jackets for each title in the *Three Great Modern Novels* gift box—Butler, *Way of All Flesh* (13.1d jacket B) and Dostoyevsky, *Brothers Karamazov* (171.1a jacket B) in addition to *The Return of the Native*—were exceptional examples of expressionist graphics. Their use was confined to the 1929 gift box and they were never used on copies of the books sold separately.  \n\n#### 126c. Preliminaries repaginated; printed from duplicate set of plates (1929)  \n\nTitle as 126b.  \n\nPp. [i–iv] v–ix [x], [*2*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–508]. [1–16]16 [17]4  \n\n[i] half title; [ii] pub. note D5; [iii] title; [iv] *Books by Thomas Hardy* | *in* THE MODERN LIBRARY; v *PREFACE* signed: T. H. | *July* 1895.; [vi] blank; vii–[x] CONTENTS; [*1*] fly title; [*2*] blank; [1]–[508] as 126a.  \n\n*Jacket A:* Uniform typographic jacket D. (*Fall 1929*)  \n\n> Front flap: 
 Kinship with nature and tenderness with human frailty characterize Thomas Hardy’s brooding and powerful novel, *The Return of the Native*. He sets his stage on the heaths and in the villages of his beloved Wessex and unfolds a drama that becomes the living symbol for the universal struggle of existence. His characters have the solidity of the landscape against which they enact their tragic fates, and if one stands out above the others, she is Eustacia Vye, as memorable a woman as life or the art of Thomas Hardy could create. (*Spring 1934*)  \n\n*Jacket B:* Pictorial, probably a smaller version of 126d jacket. Designed by Paul Galdone, October 1938; probably unsigned. (*Not seen*)  \n\nThe Harper plates used for ML printings through 1928 had become badly worn and Klopfer decided that the ML could not make another printing from them. He asked Harper’s for their “other set [of plates] so we can do a decent looking job” (Klopfer to Harper & Bros., 16 May 1929). Harper’s promised that a new set of electros would be ready by 21 June (Harper & Bros. to Klopfer, 13 June 1929). The ML went to press later that month with a new printing of 4,000 copies.  \n\nThere are minor differences between the two sets of plates in addition to the pagination of the preliminaries. The plates used for 126a–b include signatures, though 126a–b are not printed as signed. The plates used for 126c–d do not have signatures. On p. 146, line 5, “lost their charm” appears correctly in 126a–b and incorrectly as “lost there charm” in 126c–d. On p. 201, lines 24–25, the sentence “Now I’ll wish you good morning” is broken at the end of line 24 after “you” in 126a–b and after “good” in 126c–d. There are probably other differences as well. When a reader in 1931 called the ML’s attention to the error on p. 146, the ML informed Harper’s but the plates were not corrected.  \n\n#### 126d. Title page reset (1940)  \n\nThe Return of | the Native | by Thomas Hardy | [torchbearer D1 at right; 3-line imprint at left] THE | MODERN LIBRARY | NEW YORK | [rule]  \n\nPagination and collation as 126c.  \n\nContents as 126c except: [ii] blank; [iv] publication and manufacturing statements.  \n\n> *Variant:* Pp. [i–iv] v–ix [x], [*2*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–516]. [1–16]16 [17]8. Contents as 126d except: [509–514] ML list; [515–516] ML Giants list. *(Spring 1944*)  \n\n*Jacket:* Pictorial in dark grayish brown (62), medium gray (265) and black on cream paper with inset illustration of a stone bridge over a stream; lettering in reverse and black, all against medium gray background and within three dark grayish brown frames. Designed by Paul Galdone; unsigned. \n\n> Front flap as 126c jacket A. (*Spring 1940*)  \n\nThere were plans in 1950 to include *The Return of the Native* in MLCE. Albert Guerard was invited to write the introduction (ML to Guerard, 30 June 1950), but he declined on the grounds that he had just written an introduction for the competing series Rinehart Editions. The ML then approached Donald Davidson of Vanderbilt University, who initially declined because of other commitments. The ML extended the deadline, and Davidson accepted the assignment. He submitted his introduction in spring 1951 and received the ML’s \\$150 fee. However, *The Return of the Native* never appeared in MLCE, perhaps because of the competing Rinehart edition. Davidson’s introduction does not appear to have been used in any form.  \n\nAlso in the Modern Library
 Hardy, *Jude the Obscure* (1927–1990) 145
 Hardy, *Mayor of Casterbridge* (1917–1971) 17
 Hardy, *Tess of the D’Urbervilles* (1932–1971; 1979–1986) 234  \n\n",
  "id": "126",
  "year": "1926",
  "label": "THOMAS HARDY. THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE. 1926–1970. (ML 121)",
  "author": "THOMAS HARDY",
  "title": "THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE.",
  "date": "1926–1970.",
  "something": "ML 121",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "id": "126a",
      "title": "First printing (1926)  ",
      "full": "\n\n[within double rules] THE RETURN | OF THE NATIVE | [rule] | BY | THOMAS HARDY | [rule] | [torchbearer A2] | [rule] | THE MODERN LIBRARY | PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK  \n\nPp. [*6*], xxxi–xxxiii [xxxiv], [1–2] 3–506 [507–518]. [1–16]16 [17]8  \n\n[*1*] half title; [*2*] pub. note A4; [*3*] title; [*4*] *Introduction Copyright*, *1926*, *by* | THE MODERN LIBRARY, INC. | [short double rule] | FIRST MODERN LIBRARY EDITION | 1926; [*5*] *PREFACE* signed: T. H | *July* 1895.; [*6*] blank; xxxi–[xxxiv] table of contents; [1] part title: *BOOK FIRST* | *THE THREE WOMEN*; [2] blank; 3–[507] text; [508] blank; [509] map of Hardy’s Wessex; [510] blank; [511–516] ML list; [517–518] ML subject index. (*Fall 1925*) *Note:* The copyright statement on p. [*4*] is an error; the book does not contain an introduction.  \n\n*Jacket:* Uniform typographic jacket B2.  \n\n> Text on front: 
 In this novel—which the editors of the Modern Library consider one of the greatest in the English language—Thomas Hardy reaches the high water mark of his glorious genius. There are scenes in this book, and characters, that will burn themselves into the memory of the reader, never to be forgotten; passages of writing whose sheer beauty is unsurpassed in all literature. “The Return of the Native” is dominated by the tragic overtones of the Hardy conviction of inevitability—the powerlessness of man before his fate. (*Spring 1926*)  \n\nOriginally published in U.S. by Henry Holt & Co., 1878. New bibliographical edition with Hardy’s 1895 Preface and map of Hardy’s Wessex published by Harper & Brothers, 1895; plates used for successive Harper printings, including a 1922 printing in Harper’s Modern Classics. ML edition (pp. [*5*]–[509]) printed from Harper plates. Published August 1926. *WR* 20 November 1926. First printing: 7,000 copies. Discontinued 1970/71.  \n\n*The Return of the Native* was the fourth best-selling title in the ML during the first six months of 1928. It ranked low in the first quarter of ML titles in terms of sales during the 18-month period May 1942–October 1943 and the 12-month period November 1951–October 1952.  \n\nThe ML paid Harper’s royalties of 4 cents a copy. Sales of the ML edition totaled 42,543 copies by December 1930. Printings between August 1931 and November 1939 totaled at least 24,000 copies.  \n\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "126b",
      "title": "Title page reset (1927)  ",
      "full": "\n\n[within double rules] THE RETURN OF | THE NATIVE | [rule] | BY | THOMAS HARDY | [rule] | [torchbearer A2] | [rule] | THE MODERN LIBRARY | PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK  \n\nPp. [*12*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–508]. [1–16]16 [17]4  \n\n[*1*] half title; [*2*] pub. note D5; [*3*] title; [*4*] manufacturing statement; [*5*] *PREFACE* as 126a; [*6*] blank; [*7*–*10*] table of contents; [*11*] fly title; [*12*] blank; [1]–[508] as 126a. *Note:* Page numerals removed from table of contents, fly title leaf added, map of Hardy’s Wessex omitted.  \n\n*Jacket A:* Uniform typographic jacket B. Text on front as 126a. (*Fall 1927*)  \n\n*Jacket B:* Pictorial expressionist jacket in light brown (57) and dark gray on tan paper depicting a male figure walking through a stylized landscape; lettering in dark gray. Signed: Hynd. (*Spring 1929*) *Note:* The ML experimented with several pictorial jackets in 1929 in connection with three boxed sets of three titles each that were intended for sale as Christmas gifts. The boxed sets, which were sold primarily in department stores, were *Three Great French Romances*, *Three Great Renaissance Romances*, and *Three Great Modern Novels*. Hynd’s jackets for each title in the *Three Great Modern Novels* gift box—Butler, *Way of All Flesh* (13.1d jacket B) and Dostoyevsky, *Brothers Karamazov* (171.1a jacket B) in addition to *The Return of the Native*—were exceptional examples of expressionist graphics. Their use was confined to the 1929 gift box and they were never used on copies of the books sold separately.  \n\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "126c",
      "title": "Preliminaries repaginated; printed from duplicate set of plates (1929)  ",
      "full": "\n\nTitle as 126b.  \n\nPp. [i–iv] v–ix [x], [*2*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–508]. [1–16]16 [17]4  \n\n[i] half title; [ii] pub. note D5; [iii] title; [iv] *Books by Thomas Hardy* | *in* THE MODERN LIBRARY; v *PREFACE* signed: T. H. | *July* 1895.; [vi] blank; vii–[x] CONTENTS; [*1*] fly title; [*2*] blank; [1]–[508] as 126a.  \n\n*Jacket A:* Uniform typographic jacket D. (*Fall 1929*)  \n\n> Front flap: 
 Kinship with nature and tenderness with human frailty characterize Thomas Hardy’s brooding and powerful novel, *The Return of the Native*. He sets his stage on the heaths and in the villages of his beloved Wessex and unfolds a drama that becomes the living symbol for the universal struggle of existence. His characters have the solidity of the landscape against which they enact their tragic fates, and if one stands out above the others, she is Eustacia Vye, as memorable a woman as life or the art of Thomas Hardy could create. (*Spring 1934*)  \n\n*Jacket B:* Pictorial, probably a smaller version of 126d jacket. Designed by Paul Galdone, October 1938; probably unsigned. (*Not seen*)  \n\nThe Harper plates used for ML printings through 1928 had become badly worn and Klopfer decided that the ML could not make another printing from them. He asked Harper’s for their “other set [of plates] so we can do a decent looking job” (Klopfer to Harper & Bros., 16 May 1929). Harper’s promised that a new set of electros would be ready by 21 June (Harper & Bros. to Klopfer, 13 June 1929). The ML went to press later that month with a new printing of 4,000 copies.  \n\nThere are minor differences between the two sets of plates in addition to the pagination of the preliminaries. The plates used for 126a–b include signatures, though 126a–b are not printed as signed. The plates used for 126c–d do not have signatures. On p. 146, line 5, “lost their charm” appears correctly in 126a–b and incorrectly as “lost there charm” in 126c–d. On p. 201, lines 24–25, the sentence “Now I’ll wish you good morning” is broken at the end of line 24 after “you” in 126a–b and after “good” in 126c–d. There are probably other differences as well. When a reader in 1931 called the ML’s attention to the error on p. 146, the ML informed Harper’s but the plates were not corrected.  \n\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "126d",
      "title": "Title page reset (1940)  ",
      "full": "\n\nThe Return of | the Native | by Thomas Hardy | [torchbearer D1 at right; 3-line imprint at left] THE | MODERN LIBRARY | NEW YORK | [rule]  \n\nPagination and collation as 126c.  \n\nContents as 126c except: [ii] blank; [iv] publication and manufacturing statements.  \n\n> *Variant:* Pp. [i–iv] v–ix [x], [*2*], [1–2] 3–506 [507–516]. [1–16]16 [17]8. Contents as 126d except: [509–514] ML list; [515–516] ML Giants list. *(Spring 1944*)  \n\n*Jacket:* Pictorial in dark grayish brown (62), medium gray (265) and black on cream paper with inset illustration of a stone bridge over a stream; lettering in reverse and black, all against medium gray background and within three dark grayish brown frames. Designed by Paul Galdone; unsigned. \n\n> Front flap as 126c jacket A. (*Spring 1940*)  \n\nThere were plans in 1950 to include *The Return of the Native* in MLCE. Albert Guerard was invited to write the introduction (ML to Guerard, 30 June 1950), but he declined on the grounds that he had just written an introduction for the competing series Rinehart Editions. The ML then approached Donald Davidson of Vanderbilt University, who initially declined because of other commitments. The ML extended the deadline, and Davidson accepted the assignment. He submitted his introduction in spring 1951 and received the ML’s \\$150 fee. However, *The Return of the Native* never appeared in MLCE, perhaps because of the competing Rinehart edition. Davidson’s introduction does not appear to have been used in any form.  \n\nAlso in the Modern Library
 Hardy, *Jude the Obscure* (1927–1990) 145
 Hardy, *Mayor of Casterbridge* (1917–1971) 17
 Hardy, *Tess of the D’Urbervilles* (1932–1971; 1979–1986) 234  \n\n"
    }
  ],
  "type": "book"
}