HANLEY TO RAEBURN • TRANSATLANTIC ASSOCIATION

Hanley, James (1901–1985)

No Directions [Inscribed with ALS to Ben Raeburn]

London: Faber and Faber, 1943.

Hanley inscribed to Ben Raeburn with ALS, a wartime novel of the Blitz in scarce Economy jacket, linking author and publisher

Third impression, published May 1943, one month after the first edition—this volume captures the height of the London Blitz through a fragmented, impressionistic narrative of a single night during the Blitz. The copy retains its fragile wartime 'Economy Standard' dust jacket, printed on thin rationed stock, a fragile survivor of the British  'War Economy' paper rations, and originates directly from the Raeburn/Horizon Press archive.

KEY FEATURES:
+++ Physical: Original red cloth with gilt spine titles; “Book Production War Economy Standard” seal on copyright page. Faber and Faber, London. Third impression, May 1943. 7.375 inches tall; [1–4], 5–147 [148] pp.
+++ Content: A fragmented, single-night portrayal of residents in a London tenement during a bombing raid.
+++ Association: Inscribed on the front flyleaf: “For Ben & Beryl [Pearl] with love from James Hanley.”
+++ Manuscript Material: With a laid-in Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) from Hanley to Ben Raeburn (1970).

LIMITATION & SIGNATURES: THE ALS TRANSCRIPTION —
'Jan 21 / 70. Dear Ben, Many thanks for your letter and the check. We have had a very quiet time indeed. Snowed in for ten days, and we are just emerging from it now. I hope the New Year is going to be a good one for you. Also to hope you are both well. Our love to you both. As ever, James.'
+++ Provenance: Sourced from the estate of Ben Raeburn (Horizon Press).

CONDITION: Near Fine / Very Good.
+++ The Book: The bindings are tight and square; the red cloth and gilt are exceptionally bright with no notable flaws. Internally clean with light, even age-toning.
+++ Dust Jacket: The dust jacket is present but price-clipped. It is printed on the distinctive, 'onion-skin' paper necessitated by 1943 rationing, which has become characteristically brittle and age-toned. Minor wear at the head of the spine. Now protected in a clear, archival Mylar sleeve.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
No Directions is among James Hanley’s most powerful wartime novels, a claustrophobic and fragmented portrait of life during the Blitz.

The significance of this copy lies in its span: the 1943 volume marks Hanley’s contemporary reception in London, while the accompanying 1970 letter reflects his enduring relationship with his American publisher, Ben Raeburn. Together, they form a compact record of the transatlantic network that sustained his career.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ The Beryl Phantonym: Hanley’s repeated use of “Beryl” for Pearl Raeburn appears across known correspondence and association copies, reinforcing the identification of this copy within his close publishing circle.
+++ Material Culture of War: The 'onion-skin' jacket and high-acid paper stock provide a technical study of the Faber and Faber production constraints during the Second World War.
+++ Modernist Lineage: 'No Directions' is frequently cited for its surrealist departure from traditional realism, aligning Hanley with the experimental vanguard of the 1940s.

SUBJECTS: The Blitz, WWII Literature, James Hanley, Ben Raeburn, British Publishing, Surrealism, Association Copy, Autograph Letter Signed (ALS), First Edition Thus. Irish Literature, British Literature.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Gibbs A25c.

Item #21933

Price: $475.00