Ulysses. Illustrations by Henri Matisse. Easton Press 1999. Publisher’s full buckram, decorated in gilt in a style similar to the Limited Editions Club edition, all edges gilt, ribbon bound in. A fine bright copy.

Facsimile reproduction of the first edition, published in 1922 and incorporating the Matisse sketches from the Limited Editions Club edition of 1935. A UNIQUE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARGUABLY THE GREATEST WRITER AND THE GREATEST ARTIST OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

Henri Matisse created a series of striking illustrations for Ulysses in 1935, commissioned by publisher George Macy for the Limited Editions Club. These illustrations were not literal depictions of scenes from James Joyce’s novel but rather abstract, symbolic interpretations that reflected Matisse’s own artistic style rather than the book’s complex narrative. Joyce was reportedly disappointed with Matisse’s illustrations. He had hoped for more direct engagement with the novel’s themes and characters.

Despite this, Joyce respected Matisse’s stature as an artist and did not block their inclusion in the edition. The collaboration remains a notable, if imperfect, meeting of two modernist giants.