Faulkner, William (1897-1962) Turn About, Inscribed by Publisher.
Ottawa: W.L. Massiah, 1939.
First edition as a separate imprint; octavo, single signature saddle stitch binding, incorporating the original flock-textured limp paper purple wrappers lettered in gilt on front cover, and printed with a crackled texture within; inscribed by Massiah on title, "To Henry J. Taylor, 1st September 1942, Gratefully, W.L. Massiah," in blue ink; covers slightly faded, bumped & chipped; 9 x 6 1/4 in.
Faulkner's short story originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1932, was reprinted as part of the O. Henry Prize stories of 1932, and in the collection, Doctor Martino, in 1934. A work that is set during the First World War, it was called into action again on the eve of the Second. "In this unhappy period Canadian businessman W.L. Massiah, inspired by the qualities of courage portrayed by Faulkner's characters, published Turn About in pamphlet form as a holiday greeting. There is some uncertainty concerning the publication arrangements. In 1939 Random House was Faulkner's publisher; Massiah instead thanks Smith and Haas for permission to reprint 'through their agents MacMillan and Co., of Canada Limited.' The text he prints is not the Doctor Martino version published by Smith and Haas but the 'mustache' text of the Saturday Evening Post. It thus seems likely the printer used Post tear sheets for his setting copy." (Quoted from Carl Petersen's, On the Track of the Dixie Limited: Further Notes of a Faulkner Collector, LaGrange, IL: The Colophon Book Shop, 1979.)
