These Were The Hours: Memories of My Hours Press by Nancy Cunard
Rediscover the vibrant heart of the 1920s Parisian avant-garde through the eyes of one of its most legendary icons.
First published posthumously in 1969 by the Southern Illinois University Press, These Were The Hours: Memories of My Hours Press, Reanville and Paris, 1928–1931 is Nancy Cunard’s intimate, firsthand account of her years as a pioneering small-press printer and publisher.
As a flamboyant and defiant fixture of the Bohemian art crowd in Paris, Cunard established the Hours Press in 1927. Operating out of a hand-printing shop in Réanville and later Paris, she single-handedly mastered the grueling, physical craft of an Albion press during a historic summer heatwave. Over the course of three whirlwind years, her press became a vital crucible for literary Modernism, publishing 23 landmark books by some of the 20th century’s most radical voices.
Inside this compelling memoir, Cunard shares vivid anecdotes and backstage glimpses into her collaborations with literary giants, including:
- Samuel Beckett: Whom she famously gave his first separate publication.
- Ezra Pound, Robert Graves, and Richard Aldington: Key figures of the expatriate poetry scene.
- Louis Aragon: Including the behind-the-scenes story of his French translation of Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark.
- George Moore and Norman Douglas: Literary heavyweights who supported her vision.
More than just a collection of personal memories, this volume serves as an indispensable piece of literary history. It features an introduction and foreword by noted scholar Hugh Ford, rare black-and-white archival photographs, and a complete, detailed bibliography of the beautiful, limited-edition books produced by the Hours Press.
Whether you are a collector of rare 1960s first editions, a student of expatriate Modernism, or a lover of independent print culture, These Were The Hours offers an unmatched, atmospheric look at a brief but brilliant moment when art, radical politics, and literature fused in expatriate France.
Fine condition in dj. [crit.]
$ 50.00
