Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. London: Egoist Press, 1921. Pp , 299. Publisher’s green cloth boards, title embossed in blind to upper cover, lettered in gilt on spine. Damp staining to outer margin of upper & lower covers, ownership name & gift inscription to front free endpaper; contents pages in good condition throughout.

A scarce issue of ‘Portrait’ which was first published in the UK by the Egoist Press in 1917. This edition was printed in the United States due to a combination of publishing challenges and legal constraints in Britain at the time.

Harriet Shaw Weaver, Joyce’s patron and publisher, sought to publish ‘Portrait’ in Britain 1916, however no British printer would take the job due to fears of obscenity prosecutions (similar to the backlash against Dubliners).

The first edition was instead printed in New York by B.W. Huebsch. Weaver distributed this American edition in England under the Egoist Press imprint.