Wayne and Christina


Addenda and Corrigenda to
Arthur Ransome: A Bibliography (2000)

by Wayne G. Hammond

Inevitably in such a complex work as Arthur Ransome: A Bibliography I have discovered errors and omissions, or they have otherwise come to my attention. I would like to thank Russ Bernard, Alan Hakim, Tim Johns, James Mackay, Margaret Ratcliffe, Stephen Rawles, Dave Sewart, Dave Thewlis, Robert Thompson, John Tyner, and Norman Willis for their comments.

I have been assisted also by three sources of information which appeared too late for me to use when writing my book, but to which I now refer: A Ransome Book-Case by John Cowen (Amazon Publications, 2000, hereafter abbreviated ‘Cowen’); The Arthur Ransome Society Library Catalogue by Margaret and Joe Ratcliffe (Autumn 2000, hereafter ‘Ratcliffe’); and Robert Thompson’s website (hereafter ‘Thompson’) devoted to Ransome’s children’s books, which like Cowen and Ratcliffe helpfully reproduces numerous book covers, as well as audio cassette liners. I have not given references to Robert Thompson’s reproductions, but instead refer interested readers to his website.

Robert Thompson has sent me additional information regarding translations of Ransome’s works, with corrections especially to my list of Czech editions, assisted by Aleš Durčák. The list published in 1997 by the Klubu Ctenarů Arthura Ransoma, and on which I relied, itself contains errors which have since come to light. (To the reader: I hope that unusual diacritical marks used here, such as the hacek, an inverted circumflex, in Czech, as well as more common marks such as acute and grave accents, will display correctly in your browser.)

‘Arthur Ransome: Author of “Swallows and Amazons”’ by Janet and David Whitehead was published in the Book and Magazine Collector, no. 205, April 2001, p. 28–43 and outside lower cover, with many illustrations of covers. Unfortunately, the authors perpetuate the false notion that the original dedication to Swallows and Amazons ‘was omitted from all editions after 1948’, but their article is otherwise a good introduction to collecting Ransome’s books.

Significant revisions of addenda or corrigenda (as opposed to revisions of the Bibliography proper) are marked thus: [REVISED].

Section A

p. 1 (entry no. A1): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 2.

p. 4 (A2): The opening page of ‘The Souls of the Streets’ is reproduced in Cowen, p. 3.

p. 6, ll. 4–5 (A2): Tim Johns reports that he has found an anonymous review of The Souls of the Streets in the Week’s Survey, ‘A New Essayist’, 20 August 1904, p. 558.

p. 6 (A3): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 5.

p. 7 (A4), 1 line from bottom: For ‘definite’ read ‘indefinite’.

pp. 8–9 (A5): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 6.

p. 10 (A7): The upper cover and p. [1] are reproduced in Cowen, p. 8.

pp. 11–12 (A8): The upper cover, p. [i], and one divisional title-page of A8a are reproduced in Cowen, p. 9. The upper cover of the Oxford University Press, 1984 paperback edition is reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 34.

p. 12, ll. 5–6 (A8a): According to Tim Johns, an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph announces the date of publication as 25 September 1907.

p. 13 (A8b): Line 12, the final signature of the collation should be [20], not [19]. – I have acquired a copy in a fragmentary dust-jacket, which however is sufficiently complete to describe in full: Light brown wove paper, printed in brown. Printed on the upper cover: ‘Bohemia in London | [illustration by Fred Taylor, A Soho Restaurant, as for the frontispiece] | BY | ARTHUR RANSOME | Author of the | “Souls of the Streets,” “The Stone Lady,” etc.’. Printed on the spine: ‘BOHEMIA IN | LONDON | [leaf] | RANSOME | Price, $2.00 net | DODD, MEAD | & COMPANY’. Printed on the lower cover, within two concentric single rule frames: ‘LATEST POPULAR FICTION | [leaf] | [9 notices, beginning with The Flyers by George Barr McCutcheon, ending with Prisoners by Mary Cholmondeley]’. Printed on the front flap, within a single rule frame: ‘To the Readers of | This Book | [advertisement for The Bookman, New York]’. Printed on the lower flap, within a single rule frame: ‘George Barr | McCutcheon’s | Famous Novels | [leaf] | [11 notices, beginning with Graustark, ending with The Flyers] | [leaf] | DODD, MEAD | & COMPANY | Publishers New York’. This copy is in binding 3, and inscribed by a previous owner with the date 19 November 1909.

p. 14, ll. 10–12 (A8b): The Bookman (New York), like the American edition of Bohemia in London, was published by Dodd, Mead.

p. 16: I am indebted to John Tyner for telling me of a major omission, an early and exceedingly rare booklet by Ransome, The Little People of the Wood. In the Bibliography scheme this would fall probably between A8 and A9. The story of a little boy, John, who visits a wood and makes friends with animals, it is by no means Ransome’s best work, yet it is no worse than his other early writings for children, and it has a certain charm. There is no title-page. The outside upper cover reads: ‘[against a red-orange background:] [in black:] THE CHILDREN’S ENCYCLOPÆDIA STORY-BOOKS | EDITED BY ARTHUR MEE | [in white:] THE LITTLE PEOPLE | OF THE WOOD | [in black:] A STORY OF JOHN AND HIS FRIENDS | BY ARTHUR RANSOME | [illustration of six rabbits, from p. 19, ‘These be our young ones. Not that I think they’re much to look at’, by Thomas Maybank, in black and red-orange against a white panel] | [in black:] PRICE ONE PENNY | THE OTHER PENNY BOOKS NOW READY ARE | [at left:] “The Unseen Travellers.” | “Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit.” [at right:] “The Caliph of the Cage.” | “The Story of Ten Thousand Years.”’

Pagination: 24 pp. Collation: 12 leaves. Size: 18.4 × 13.2 cm.

Contents: 1–24 text, headed on p. 1 ‘[illustration] | THE LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE WOOD’. The story continues, however, onto the inside lower cover. The work includes twenty-three illustrations by Maybank.

Sheets and binding: Wove paper. Bound in wove wrappers, stapled. The inside upper cover reads, in black: ‘[within a double rule frame:] My dear Boys and Girls | [preface, beginning “I hope that you all know the magic of the woods.”] | Your affectionate friend, Arthur Mee’. The outside lower cover reads: ‘[in black:] THE CHILDREN’S ENCYCLOPÆDIA PENNY BOOKS | Four of these story books are now ready, and may | be obtained through any newsagent or bookseller. | [reproductions of the upper covers of the four books, in black, white, and red-orange] | THE COVERS OF THE CHILDREN’S ENCYCLOPÆDIA PENNY BOOKS | [rule] | Printed and published by the Amalgamated Press, Limited, Bouverie Street, London. | Editorial office: 244, Temple Chambers, E.C.’ All edges trimmed.

The publication date of The Little People of the Wood is not known. However, Ransome entered this title in his diary for 1909 (Ransome papers, Brotherton Library, University of Leeds). It is recorded under the heading ‘Books to be done’, as written for the publisher ‘Harmsworth’, dated 29 June [1909?], and with a check mark next to the title. When writing the Bibliography I searched for this title in numerous library catalogues and databases, and in catalogues and databases of secondhand books for sale, without success, and I followed the name ‘Harmsworth’, which I knew to be associated with Arthur Mee (see his Harmsworth Self-Educator, Harmsworth History of the World, etc.), but also with the Harmsworth Magazine, circa 1910, until these trails also grew cold. Since there was not sufficient evidence of publication, and the check mark in the diary could mean anything, I omitted mention of The Little People of the Wood in my book. John Tyner’s discovery of the work in print of course puts Ransome’s diary page and its markings in a new light, and in this regard I must mention another ‘checked’ title entered there but unrecorded elsewhere: ‘The Book of the Month’, also for ‘Harmsworth’, dated 27 October [1909?].

The Amalgamated Press, printer and publisher of The Little People of the Wood, also published other works with which Arthur Mee was associated, including the Children’s Magazine. This avenue might be explored further, in search of more unrecorded Ransome publications, although the holdings available in libraries are few and far between.

p. 18 (A9a): The upper cover of binding 1 is reproduced in Cowen, p. 11.

p. 20 (A10a): The upper half of the upper cover of one of the two specially bound copies, and p. 63 of A10a, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 16–17.

p. 24 (A11a): The first of the four plates is reproduced in Cowen, p. 7.

pp. 25–6 (A12a): The title spread is reproduced in Cowen, p. 18.

p. 28, ll. 5–10 (A12b): The Department of Special Collections, Georgetown University Library, also has two other letters by Ransome to John G. Wilson which mention The Hoofmarks of the Faun, dated [8?] January 1913 and 1 June 1914. These are among ten letters by Ransome to Wilson, 1913–1957, held by Georgetown University.

pp. 28–31 (A13a): The upper binding is reproduced in Cowen, p. 22. The opening portion of ch. 9 in the first and ‘third’ editions (see p. 34) are reproduced for comparison in Cowen, p. 25. Margaret Ratcliffe has remarked on tarboard that Ransome turned his thoughts again to Oscar Wilde many years after his own book on that author appeared, by reading the proofs of The Letters of Oscar Wilde edited by Rupert Hart-Davis.

p. 34 (A13c, note): The upper cover of the dust-jacket of the Methuen, 1913 ‘third edition’ is reproduced in Cowen, p. 24.

p. 36 (A14): The opening of ‘Friedrich Nietzsche’ is reproduced in Cowen, p. 26.

p. 38 (A15): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 28.

pp. 39–46 (A16): Most of the upper binding of A16a and the upper cover of the dust-jacket of a printing of the Nelson, 1938 edition are reproduced in colour in Cowen, p. 33. Selections or excerpts from Old Peter’s Russian Tales have been published also in Adventure, Rare and Magical: Stories, selected by Phyllis R. Fenner, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945, and later editions; ‘The Stolen Turnips, the Magic Tablecloth, the Sneezing Goat, and the Wood Whistle’); The Children’s Own Treasure Book (London: Odhams, 1947; ‘Salt’, illustrated by Dorothy Ralphs); A Golden Land: Stories, Poems, Songs, New and Old, ed. by James Reeves, illustrated by Gillian Conway, et al. (London: Constable, 1958; New York: Hastings House, 1958; London: Longmans Young Books, 1968; Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, 1973; ‘The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship’); Junior Great Books, Series 3: First Semester (Chicago: Great Books Foundation, 1992; ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’); Nine Witch Tales, ed. by ‘Abby Kedabra’, illustrated by John Fernie (New York: Scholastic, 1968; ‘Baba Yaga, the Forest Witch’); and The Silent Readers: Fifth Reader, ed. by William D. Lewis and Albert Lindsay Rowland, illustrated by Frederick Richardson (Philadelphia: John C. Winston, 1920; ‘The Hut in the Forest’). Authors’ Choice, only the American edition of which is cited on Bibliography p. 46, was first published by Hamilton, London, in 1970.

pp. 46–8 (A17): On Behalf of Russia has also been reprinted in Arthur Ransome: Dispatches and Letter to America, 1918, ed. by J.M. Gallanar (print-on-demand from Lulu.com, listed on Amazon.com as first published 25 September 2009, ISBN 978-0-557-11981-3), pp. 191–213.

p. 47 (A17): I now have a copy of Radek and Ransome on Russia, which may be described as follows. The title-page/upper cover of the self-wrappers reads: ‘[within a double-rule frame:] RADEK AND RANSOME | ON RUSSIA | [rule] | Being Arthur Ransome’s “Open Letter to America” | with a New Preface by Karl Radek | [rule] | Price, 5 Cents | [rule] | THE SOCIALIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY | 243 55th STREET [gap] BROOKLYN, N.Y.’

Pagination: 32 pp. Collation: 16 leaves. Size: 19.9 × 13.9 cm.

Contents: [1] title, as above; [2] blank; 3–7 preface by Karl Radek, headed on p. 3: ‘RADEK AND RANSOME | ON RUSSIA’; [8] blank; 9–31 text by Ransome, headed on p. 9: ‘A LETTER TO AMERICA’; [32] ‘THE CLASS STRUGGLE | Devoted to International Socialism | [rule] | Edited by L. C. Fraina, Eugene V. Debs and Ludwig Lore. | Published monthly at 243 55th St., Brooklyn. | [rule] | PRICE, 25 CENTS PER COPY, $3 A YEAR. | [rule] | All the great figures in European and American Socialism, except | the Social-Chauvinists, have contributed to its pages. | [double rule] WE ALSO HAVE THE FOLLOWING PAMPHLETS ON SALE: | [list of 8 titles, beginning with Lenin, Letter to American Workmen, ending with Lenin, The State and Revolution, including Radek and Ransome on Russia as the third title] | [rule] | SPECIAL RATES TO AGENTS AND SOCIALIST LOCALS. | [union label] 1 19 | THE SOCIALIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, | 243 55th Street, Brooklyn.’ I take the ‘1 19’ next to the union label on p. [32] to mean a printing date of January 1919. A rubber-stamped message at the foot of the lower cover of my copy indicates that the work was also distributed by Morris Bernstein, book and art agent, Chicago.

Sheets and binding: Wove paper. Self-wrappers, stapled through the fold. All edges trimmed.

p. 48 (A18a): The upper cover of the primary issue, with the George Allen & Unwin cover imprint, is reproduced in Cowen, p. 34.

p. 50 (A18a, note): The date of the Redwords edition of Six Weeks in Russia [in] 1919 should read ‘1992’, not ‘1972’. The upper cover of this edition is reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 36.

pp. 51–5 (A19): The upper cover of the limited edition is reproduced in The Art of Publishers’ Bookbindings, 1815–1915 by Ellen K. Morris and Edward S. Levin (Los Angeles: William Dailey Rare Books, 2000), p. 49. The dedicatory poem, p. [7], and Mackenzie’s colour illustration The Sultan’s Daughter are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 29, 30.

p. 57 (A20): The notes following l. 10 on this page, regarding later editions, should have been separated from the preceding notes, which pertain specifically to A20b. The upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket of the Edmund Ward, 1962 edition are reproduced in Cowen, p. 39.

p. 58 (A21a) [REVISED]: The upper dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 35, and I have seen the full jacket illustrated in an online bookseller’s listing, albeit with the spine at a sharp angle (I am not sure if the rules there are thick single rules or otherwise) and some losses to the lower panel; and I still have not seen the flaps. In Cowen, the paper appears to be a pinkish cream, but in the online listing it appears to be (under significant soiling) merely off-white, with the printing in dark blue. Printed on the upper cover: ‘THE CRISIS IN | RUSSIA | By ARTHUR RANSOME | Author of “Six Weeks in Russia [sic, no closing quotation mark] | [within a single rule frame:] [paragraph symbol] Conditions in Russia are changing fast. | Mr. Ransome pictures here a different | stage of the Revolution from that de- | picted in his last book. | [paragraph symbol] It is a vivid picture of Russia’s problem | to-day and of the methods with which | she attempts its solution. | [below the frame:] London : GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.’ Printed on the spine: ‘[rule] | THE | CRISIS | IN | RUSSIA | ARTHUR | RANSOME | Sale Price in | Great Britain | 5= | net. | [publisher’s device] | George Allen | & Unwin Ltd | [rule]’. Printed on the lower cover: ‘GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. | [rule] | [notices of four books, beginning with The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism by Bertrand Russell, ending with Bolshevism at Work by William T. Goode] | [rule] | Ruskin House, 40 Museum Street, W.C. 1’. A label on the upper panel of the Cowen copy notes that the price was reduced to 6 d.

p. 59 (A21a, note): The upper cover of the Redwords, 1972 edition is reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 36.

p. 59 (A21b): Part of the upper dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 36.

p. 61 (A22a): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 40, printed as follows: ‘[thick-thin rule] | “RACUNDRA’S” | FIRST CRUISE | By ARTHUR RANSOME | [photograph of the “Ancient Mariner”, within a single rule frame] | With Thirty Illustrations | and Four Charts | London : GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.’

p. 63 (A22b): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 41, where the book is described as bound in ‘illustrated brown boards in illustrated white dustwrapper’.

p. 65 (A22c): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 42, printed as follows: ‘[within a decorative frame:] THE TRAVELLERS’ LIBRARY | [star] | ‘RACUNDRA’S’ FIRST CRUISE | by | ARTHUR RANSOME | [publisher’s device, a faun carrying a vase of flowers]’. The jacket is described as ‘cream’ but the colour reproduction is a yellowish tan.

p. 65 (A22d): Line 24, a closing single quotation mark should appear after the first word of the transcribed title, i.e. ‘RACUNDRA’S’; l. 28, the second single quotation mark in the transcription of p. [3] should be reversed in direction; l. 37, again, the second single quotation mark in the transcription of p. [15] should be reversed in direction.

p. 66 (A22d): Line 18, the second single quotation mark in the transcription of the spine lettering should be reversed in direction. – The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 43.

p. 67 (A22d, notes): The upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket of the Mariners Library edition, the upper cover of the Penguin Books, 1956 edition, the lower cover of the Sphere Books edition, and the upper cover of the Century Publishing edition are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 45–7.

p. 68 (A23a): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 48.

p. 69 (A23b): Dust-jacket, tan textured wove paper, printed in black. Printed on the upper cover, between a tall thick-thin-very thick vertical rule at left and a shorter very thick-thin-thick vertical rule at right: ‘The | Chinese | Puzzle | By | Arthur Ransome | LLOYD GEORGE SAYS: | [ten-line quotation of the first paragraph of the foreword, p. 9] | Houghton Mifflin Company’. Printed on the spine: ‘The | Chinese | Puzzle | Arthur | Ransome | [oval device with a ship under full sail] | HOUGHTON | MIFFLIN’. Printed on the lower cover, within a decorative frame: ‘Essays and Books of Information | [rule] | [notices of eight books in two columns, separated by three horizontal rules and one vertical rule, beginning with Guide-posts to Chinese Painting by Louise Wallace Hackney, ending with The Banana by Philip K. Reynolds] | [rule] | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY’. Printed on the front flap: ‘$2.00 | [double rule] | AN IMMIGRANT | IN JAPAN | By Theodate Geoffrey | [rule] | [blurb] | Illustrated, $3.00 | [double rule]’. Printed on the back flap: ‘[double rule] | A CHINESE MIRROR | By Florence Ayscough | [rule] | [blurb] | $5.00 | [double rule].’

pp. 69–71 (A24): The upper cover of the dust-jacket (salmon pink paper variant) of the original Cape edition is reproduced in Cowen, p. 49. The upper half of the title-page of the published first edition, and the upper half of the title-page of a proof copy, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 50. The upper cover of the dust-jacket and the title-page of the Life and Letters issue, the upper cover of the dust-jacket of the St. Giles Library issue, the upper cover of the Sphere Books, 1967 edition, and the upper cover of a later (1982) wrapper for the Oxford University Press paperback edition are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 51–3. The Oxford cover is also reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 37.

p. 72, third paragraph of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ notes: Robert Thompson remarks on his website that the Australian editions were ‘printed in Britain and bound in Sydney’, that they were bound in a green cloth lighter than that of the Cape editions, and omitted the title stamped on the upper binding, and the publisher’s name at the foot of the dust-jacket spine was replaced with a Cape device. – The second sentence of this paragraph, beginning ‘At least once’, ideally should have been a paragraph unto itself. As it stands it seems to run on from the preceding statement about the Australian editions.

p. 73, second paragraph of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ notes: Red Fox have reissued Swallows and Amazons in a larger format and a new cover (2001).

p. 73, penultimate paragraph of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ notes: David R. Godine have now published a trade paperback (i.e. large format) edition of The Big Six (2000).

pp. 73–8 (A25a): I should perhaps remark that the imprint of A25a includes, only as a matter of corporate record, the name of Jonathan Cape’s New York sister firm, Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith – not, as Janet and David Whitehead say in the April 2001 Book and Magazine Collector, ‘the names of Jonathan Cape and the New York publisher, Harrison Smith’. Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith was established in late 1928 to help Cape to compete in the American market, but was harmed badly by the Depression and lasted only until 1932: see Michael S. Howard, Jonathan Cape, Publisher (London: Jonathan Cape, 1971), pp. 115ff. – The 19 May 1958 author’s note, and the upper cover of the dust-jacket of A25a, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 55, 57. – Thompson notes that by 1967, at lower right on the upper cover of the dust-jacket, the illustration Leading Lights was eventually replaced by There Was a Bang, ‘as it was thought that three night-time illustrations together did not balance the layout of the cover.’

p. 79, ll. 20–1 (A25a, note), and index p. 355: For ‘Bernard Gibbins’ read ‘Bernard Cribbins’. Robert Thompson informs me that ‘the recording is obviously abridged and heavily edited by Edward Phillips: to save time, the Billies are not mentioned at all, so that the warning about Captain Flint’s houseboat being in danger comes from Mr Dixon.’

p. 80 (A25b): The upper binding is reproduced in Cowen, p. 63.

p. 81 (A25c): The title-page and the upper cover of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 58.

p. 84 (A25d): The title-page and the upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 59.

p. 86 (A25d): In lines 6–7, I refer to ‘the fourteenth printing of the Cape edition’, and do so also in the heading for A25d on p. 84 (‘fourteenth printing’). This was clumsy of me, and I fear I have caused confusion. I meant, the fourteenth printing overall, beginning with the first of 1930, with Stephen Spurrier illustrations, and then twelve printings illustrated by Clifford Webb. The printing of 1938, the first with Ransome’s own illustrations, is the fourteenth in this sequence. Jonathan Cape, however, began a new count with the ‘new illustrated edition’ of 1931, and therefore in the official printing sequence (but not so stated in A25d) the October 1938 printing is the ‘thirteenth’. Fellow collector John Cowen informed me that his copy of A25d does not have, as I describe on p. 86, ‘two drawings by Clifford Webb, uncredited, . . . retained from the previous printings: a tall ship, p. 34 (end of ch. 2) and Swallow, p. 347 (end of ch. 29)’, but rather the illustrations as I describe them for copies beginning with the printing of 1939. This leads me to think that John may have been looking at the fourteenth printing as described on the copyright page, i.e. that of 1939, rather than the printing of 1938. To my lasting regret, I was pressed for time at that moment and set the question aside, especially since a proper answer would require digging through old notebooks and files, and I had not yet replied to John when I heard he had passed away; and therefore I do not know if he had in his collection a variant of the 1938 printing, or was looking at something else altogether. All I can do here is acknowledge John’s information and pass it along in case others can comment on it. I do not myself have a copy of the 1938 printing, and cannot find in my papers where I saw one to describe for A25d.

p. 86 (A25d, notes): The upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket of the ‘cheap edition’, and its note about the author; the upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket of the Reprint Society, 1958 edition; and the endpaper map of the Book Club Associates edition, published 1977, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 60–1. Robert Thompson tells me that ‘the Book Club Associates copy is in green cloth, slightly lighter in shade than the Cape edition. The dust-wrapper is of the usual Cape edition of the late 70s apart from the Cape name missing from the spine, replaced by a plain BCA logo.’

p. 88 (A25e, note): The upper cover of a later printing, with cover art by Anthony Kerins, is reproduced in Cowen, p. 63.

p. 89 (A26a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 65.

pp. 91–2 (A26b): The endpaper spread and the title-page of A26b are reproduced in Cowen, p. 66. In my notes I neglected to mention that the American edition omitted the final three paragraphs of the final chapter, from ‘“Well,” said Nancy’ to ‘Isn’t it a blessing to get home?’ This was either a compositor’s error, or a deliberate omission in order to finish the text at the bottom of a page. Ransome’s disgust at this loss of text is quoted in Arthur Ransome and the World of the Swallows and Amazons by Roger Wardale (Hebden, Skipton, North Yorkshire: Great Northern Books, 2000), p. 67 (where however the omission is wrongly stated to be in the first rather than the final chapter of Swallowdale).

pp. 92–3 (A26c): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 67. Thompson notes that the 1948 printing of A26c was on ‘poor quality thin paper, which made the volume almost half the thickness of the first edition.’ At some point in the course of the current Cape edition (from 1961) the dedication to Elizabeth Abercrombie was omitted, and the ‘1958’ author’s note added.

p. 94 (A26d): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 67.

p. 95 (A27a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket of A27a, and the wholly typographic upper cover of the dust-jacket of the third Cape printing, 1932, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 68–9. The upper cover of an advance proof copy, 1932, is reproduced in Cowen, p. 70.

pp. 97–8 (A27b): The upper binding, and the upper cover of the dust-jacket, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 70, 71. The upper jacket is printed in black and green with illustrations of the Wild Cat titled ‘Peter Duck | by Arthur Ransome’, Wild Cat Island titled ‘Swallows and Amazons’, and the camp at Swallowdale titled ‘Swallowdale’, the whole within black and green single rule frames.

p. 97, l. 17 (A27a, note); p. 128, l. 23 (A34a, note), and index p. 358: For ‘Lengwick’ read ‘Lengnick’. Robert Thompson tells me that John Franklin also wrote music for Swallowdale which seems not to have been published.

p. 100 (A28a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket of A28a, and the upper cover of an advance proof copy, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 72–3. Thompson notes that at some point in the course of the current Cape edition (from 1961), by 1995, the dedication to the ‘Clan McEoch’ was omitted, and the ‘1958’ author’s note added. On the McEoch family, see further, D1.

p. 103, l. 17: For ‘blue background’ read ‘white background’.

p. 105 (A29a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 75–6. The upper cover, title-page, and p. 19 of an advance proof copy, corrected in manuscript by Ransome, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 78. The erratum slip in A29a, inserted at p. 15 (cf. my note, Bibliography p. 107), is reproduced in Cowen, p. 79.

p. 106, l. 30 (A29a): A closing parenthesis should appear after ‘copy-text’.

p. 108 (A29b): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket of A29b, and the upper binding and part of the upper cover of the dust-jacket of the Junior Literary Guild issue, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 76–7. Thompson notes ‘an anomaly between the dust-wrapper (second impression) and the book (third impression).’

p. 109 (A29c): The upper cover, as originally issued, and the upper cover of a later printing, with cover art by Anthony Kerins, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 79.

pp. 109–11 (A30a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 81. Thompson notes that at some point in the course of the current Cape edition (from 1983), the dedication to Oscar Gnosspelius was omitted. In this regard, Thompson cites the 1998 printing; the dedication is absent also from a 1995 printing in my possession.

pp. 111–12 (A30b): I have seen a copy of the Junior Literary Guild issue, with a dual imprint on the title-page (Junior Literary Guild and J.B. Lippincott, dated 1937), bound in reddish brown rather than light red cloth. – The upper cover of the dust-jacket of the Junior Literary Guild issue is reproduced in Cowen, p. 81. – On p. 19, ll. 12–13 of A30b, ‘His mind wasn’t any good’ should read ‘His mine wasn’t any good’. This error appeared also in the second printing.

p. 113 (A30c): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 82.

p. 114 (A31a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket (the latter partly obscured) are reproduced in Cowen, p. 84.

p. 116 (A31a, note): The ‘simplified version’ appeared in Oxford’s Bookworm Stage 4 series for early readers, and includes comprehension exercises. A revised edition of the Mowat abridgment and retelling was published by Oxford University Press in 2000, bound in wrappers with cover art by David Frankland.

p. 118 (A31c): The upper cover, as originally issued, and the upper cover of a later printing, with cover art by Anthony Kerins, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 85.

p. 119 (A32a): The upper and lower covers of the dust-jacket of A32a, and the upper cover of a proof copy, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 87.

p. 120, l. 11 (A32a): For ‘After 1939’ read ‘After the printing of April 1942’.

p. 121 (A32b): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 88.

pp. 121–2 (A32c): The upper cover, as originally issued, and the upper cover of a later printing, with cover art by Anthony Kerins, are reproduced in Cowen, p. 88.

pp. 122–3 (A33a): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 90.

pp. 124–5 (A33b): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 91.

p. 125 (A33c): The upper cover of a later printing, with cover art by Anthony Kerins, is reproduced in Cowen, p. 90.

pp. 126–7 (A34a): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 93.

p. 129 (A34b): Part of the upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 94.

p. 131 (A35a): The upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 96.

p. 133 (A35b): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 97.

p. 134 (A35c): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 96.

p. 135 (A36a): The covers and spine of the dust-jacket, and the different versions of the illustrations Dick Goes Off to the Lochs and In the Cabin of the Pterodactyl, are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 99, 100. Cowen remarks that in revising the latter picture, Ransome changed the direction of the decking from port–starboard to bow–stern, and added two more support beams. On my note (Bibliography, p. 137) that Ransome ‘felt that he had drawn the cabin with too much headroom’ in the first version, see Ransome the Artist, p. 133.

p. 136 (A36a): Line 21, for ‘demeanor’ read ‘demeanour’. Foot of page: James Mackay remarks that my phrase ‘lived to complete’ suggests that Coots in the North remained uncompleted due to Ransome’s death, whereas he may have stopped work on it for other reasons, such as the effects of age and poor health. I suppose I had meant ‘lived to complete’ to be metaphorical, but I agree with Mr. Mackay that ‘completed’ would be better. In relation to this, I see that in my notes for A41, pp. 148–9, I said nothing about why Ransome did not finish Coots in the North. It may be that I thought that speculation on the subject would serve no purpose; and yet, I cited Hugh Brogan’s thoughts on why Ransome abandoned The River Comes First. Brogan writes, in his introduction to Coots in the North, p. 22, that ‘there are even fewer clues as to why Ransome abandoned “Coots” than as to why he abandoned “The River Comes First”. The synopsis suggests that the difficulty was that his powers of invention were failing, and could not be made good by the sustained application which had carried him through so often before.’

p. 138 (A36b): Although the corrected version of Dick Goes Off to the Lochs is printed with the text, the original version was printed as part of the dust-jacket montage.

p. 139 (A36c): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 98.

p. 142 (A38): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 105.

p. 143, final paragraph (A39): I should have identified the ‘photograph of a boy and a dog’ printed on the lower dust-jacket more fully, as a picture not of Ransome, but of E.R. Eddison, extracted from a group portrait of ‘Ric’ Eddison, the dog, Ransome, and their tutor Mr Pegg, reproduced in the Autobiography as plate 1. My late friend Ellen Tillinghast called this to my attention long ago.

pp. 149–51 (A42): The upper cover (or dust-jacket) is reproduced in colour in Cowen, p. 31, and in Ratcliffe, p. 36. Two letters by Ransome to John G. Wilson in the Dept. of Special Collections, Georgetown University Library, refer to The Blue Treacle. On 1 June 1914 Ransome wrote from St Petersburg of his concern to publish the book before winter. On 1 August 1914 he inquired about the status of The Blue Treacle, and whether Wilson had arranged its publication (cf. my note about Wilson and The Hoofmarks of the Faun in Bibliography, p. 28). The war that erupted in August 1914 probably ended any immediate hope of the book appearing in print; but Ransome continued to enter its title in his diary (Brotherton Library, University of Leeds), under the heading ‘written and unpublished’, until 1917.

p. 160, l. 9 (A48): 500 copies of Ransome the Artist were run-on for sale by Abbot Hall, in addition to the 500 copies for sale by Amazon Publications.

Section B

pp. 168–70 (B4): Ransome’s biographical introduction was reprinted in the editions of The Tales of Hoffman published by the Limited Editions Club, New York, and the Heritage Press, New York, in 1943. (The latter is a less expensive reprint of the de luxe Limited Editions Club version.) This edition was also published by the Easton Press, Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1992.

p. 171 (B5a): The title-page and facing portrait are reproduced in Cowen, p. 13.

p. 175 (B7a): The upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket are reproduced in Cowen, p. 12.

pp. 183–6 (B12): The illustration on p. 476 of The Book of Friendship is reproduced in Cowen, p. 108. – The upper cover of binding 3, the title-page, and the upper cover and spine of the dust-jacket of B12a are reproduced in Cowen, pp. 14–15. The jacket spine differs from the copy I describe in the Bibliography, in that it is printed only ‘the | book | of | friendship | [blurb]’, without details of publication or imprint. I now suspect that the single (fragmentary) example of the dust-jacket I was able to see when writing the Bibliography, pasted into the Bodleian Library (copyright deposit) copy, represents a trial or sample version, with publication details and prices for the benefit of booksellers. The jacket as illustrated in Cowen moreover is similar, in its spine treatment, to a jacket I have now seen for The Book of Love (B15a).

pp. 189–90 (B15a): The upper cover of binding 1 is reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 35. I have now seen a copy of B15a in a third, probably later binding: light green cloth with horizontal striations, over boards, stamped on the upper cover in dark green and on the spine in gilt. The copy examined includes a gift inscription dated 1919. – I have acquired a copy of B15a in binding 1 and a dust-jacket with minimal losses. The jacket spine differs from my description on p. 190 in that it contains only ‘THE BOOK | OF | LOVE | [blurb]’, without details of publication or imprint. The jacket paper is grey wove, but with no blue fibres evident. I now think that the single (fragmentary) example of the dust-jacket I was able to see when writing the Bibliography, pasted into the Bodleian Library (copyright deposit) copy of the book, may represent a trial or sample version; cf. my note for B12a, above.

p. 191 (B15b): The upper cover is reproduced in Cowen, p. 19.

p. 192 (B16a): Cowen, p. 20, notes a variant, presumably later binding ‘in a uniform light cloth . . . with the title in gilt only on the spine of the book and no translator’s name shown.’

pp. 201 (B21, note), 204 (B23a, note), 210–15 (B26–29): Cowen, pp. 101–3, reproduces the upper cover of the dust-jacket from (first?) printings of six of the seven Mariners Library titles to which Ransome contributed introductions.

pp. 206–7 (B24): On 31 August 1940 Ransome supplied the H.W. Wilson Company, New York, another autobiographical sketch, for use in the publication Twentieth Century Authors (1942, and later editions). A pertinent letter by Ransome of this date is in the Department of Special Collections, Georgetown University Library. An excerpt from Ransome’s statement, published in a successor work, World Authors 1900–1950 (ed. by Martin Seymour-Smith and Andrew C. Kimmens, New York: H.W. Wilson, 1996, vol. 2, pp. 2139–40), indicates that Twentieth Century Authors should have been included in Section B, between B25 and B26. I hope to locate a copy (in original binding) to describe for a future addendum.

p. 208 (B25a): The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 106.

pp. 210–11 (B26): I have now seen a black and white photocopy of the first printing dust-jacket. As for the second printing jacket I describe, the track chart of the Spray across the Indian and Pacific oceans wraps around the covers and spine. Printed on the upper cover: ‘[above the chart:] CAPTAIN JOSHUA | SLOCUM | [against the chart:] Sailing Alone | Around the | World | AND | Voyage of the Liberdade | [below the chart:] WITH A NEW BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION BY | ARTHUR RANSOME’. Printed on the spine: ‘[above the chart:] SAILING | ALONE | AROUND | THE | WORLD | [against the chart:] S | L | O | C | U | M | [below the chart:] Illustrated | [star] | RUPERT | HART-DAVIS’. The lower jacket lettering is identical to that on the upper jacket. Printed on the front flap: ‘[blurb] | [continued on back flap | 8s. 6d. net’. Printed on the back flap: ‘continued from front flap] | [blurb, continued] | RUPERT HART-DAVIS LTD | 53 Connaught Street, W.2 | LONDON’. – I have now seen a black and white photocopy of the preliminaries and dust-jacket of the Reprint Society, London edition of Sailing Alone around the World. The upper jacket features a device with the sun at the centre, surrounded by signs of the zodiac, and the imprint ‘WORLD | BOOKS’ is at the foot of the jacket spine. – A seller on the eBay Internet auctions offered a copy of Sailing Alone around the World with Ransome’s introduction, published by the Travel Book Club in 1950.

p. 214, l. 32 (B29): For ‘EMPSON EDWARD MIDDLETON’ read ‘EMPSON EDWARD | MIDDLETON’ (with added vertical line).

pp. 214–16 (B29): I have acquired a copy of the first printing, bound however in light blue textured paper over boards, stamped in dark blue as for the buff cloth binding I saw and describe. The top edge may have been dark blue originally, but is now faded. (See also my addendum below for B30.) Also, the dust-jacket of this copy is clearly later than the one I describe in B29 (and see also Cowan, p. 103) – it lists on the back flap the Mariners Library series from no. 1 to no. 47 (omitting nos. 2, 8, 13, 15–16, 18, 32, and 40), i.e. not before 1963 – and is very different. A band of red wraps around the covers, spine, and flaps, against which is printing in black; below this is printing against a white background. Printed on the upper cover: ‘[against the red band, a compass rose] | [below the band:] [at left:] E E Middleton [at right:] The | cruise | of | the | Kate | [at foot of the spine and upper cover, a rough drawing of waves]’. Printed on the spine: ‘[against the red band:] [a compass rose] | MARINERS | LIBRARY | NO 23 | [below the band:] [running down:] E E Middleton [parallel to the author’s name:] The cruise of the Kate | [below the preceding, above the “waves”:] Rupert | Hart-Davis’. Printed on the lower cover: ‘[against the red band, a compass rose] | [below the band:] [at left:] E E Middleton [at right:] The | cruise | of | the | Kate | [below the preceding:] [quotation from the introduction by Ransome] | [quotation from The Wave] | [at left:] Rupert Hart-Davis Limited | 3 Upper James St Golden Sq London W1 [at right, publisher’s device, a running fox]’. Printed on the front flap, below the red band (not overprinted): ‘[blurb] | Jacket design by Malcolm Young [here my copy of the jacket is clipped, presumably the price]’. Printed on the lower flap: ‘[against the red band:] Mariners Library | [below the band, a list of Mariners Library titles, as noted above] | Printed in Great Britain SBN: 246.63543.6’. I have also seen, on eBay, a 1967 printing of Sailing Alone around the World (B26) in a similar dust-jacket. I suspect that Hart-Davis reissued both new printings and existing stock of the Mariners Library titles, or a selection from them, in ‘updated’ dust-jackets (the type is now sans-serif or swelled serif, i.e. Optima). – The Cruise of ‘The Kate’ with Ransome’s introduction was also reprinted in paperback by Panther Books (Hamilton & Co.), London, in 1956, no. 7 in their Nautical Series, with the control number ‘600’ on the spine. The upper wrapper features a painting of the Kate in a rough sea.

pp. 216–17 (B30): I have acquired a copy bound in light blue textured paper over boards, stamped in dark blue as for the buff cloth binding I saw and describe. The top edge may have been dark blue originally, but is now faded. The dust-jacket however is the same as described in B30. Compare my addendum for B29, above. I suspect that Hart-Davis issued at least some volumes of the Mariners Library in paper over boards for the general public, and in cloth over boards for the library market. – The solid panel on the dust-jacket spine described is actually an extension of the grey-blue background on the upper cover. – I have seen advertisements for a paperback edition of The Voyage Alone in the Yawl ‘Rob Roy’, with Ransome noted as editor, published in 2001 by Dover Publications of Mineola, New York.

pp. 217–18 (B31): A copy recently added to my collection is bound in dark green cloth, stamped in silver, not gilt. Its dust-jacket is printed on wove paper. A light blue and white pattern, to resemble cloth, wraps around the upper cover, spine, and part of the lower cover and the front flap of the jacket. Printed on the upper jacket in black: ‘[against the pattern:] THE CONSTANT | FISHERMAN | [illustration of a fly-fisherman and a boy, Catching the Trout for Robin, as on p. [ii], a vignette within the pattern] | [against the pattern:] BY | MAJOR H. E. MORRITT | Introduction by ARTHUR RANSOME | Illustrated by RAYMOND SHEPPARD’. Printed on the jacket spine against the pattern, in black: ‘[running down:] H. E. Morritt · THE CONSTANT FISHERMAN | [horizontal:] A. & C. | BLACK’. An advertisement for For Poachers Only and the Giles Stories by Jack Chance is printed on the lower cover of the jacket, in black. A blurb is printed on the front flap, in black; on the dust-jacket examined, the lower corner of the flap has been clipped, probably to remove a price. The back flap is blank. The upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Cowen, p. 105.

pp. 218–19 (B32): Part of the upper cover of the dust-jacket is reproduced in Mixed Moss 3, no. 8 (Winter 2000), p. 35. A letter by Ransome to the widow of Francis Wrigley Hirst (1873–1953), dated 10 June 1957, discusses the prospects of publishing the ‘F.W.H. book’, i.e. F.W. Hirst by His Friends, before the Christmas 1957 sales season (Georgetown University Library, Dept. of Special Collections). Ransome continued to correspond with Helena Hirst until at least the end of February 1960, when he wrote to thank her for the gift of some feathers for tying flies, but informed her that his hands would no longer allow it.

Section C

p. 224, add new entry between C1 and C2:

‘Submarine Ships and Submarine Cities: A Retrospect and a Forecast’. The Young Engineer and Amateur Carpenter and Electrician, October 1902, pp. 429–35. Article.

I published a few paragraphs about this work in Mixed Moss, the journal of the Arthur Ransome Society, for 2021, pp. 11–12. There (p. 11) it is said erroneously that the article would fall in the existing Bibliography ‘between C1 and C3’; read instead, between C1, dated 1901, and C2, dated 1903.

pp. 225–6: Tim Johns has noted six additional contributions by (or very probably by) Ransome to the Week’s Survey which I somehow overlooked. These would fall variously between C3 and C5, and between C21 and C22: ‘Modern Hack Journalism’, 23 Jan. 1904, pp. 195–6, an article, signed ‘K.Q.’; ‘Tibet’, 30 Jan. 1904, pp. 207–8, an article, signed ‘A.R.’ (based on an article by Ekai Kawaguchi in the Century magazine); ‘Japanese Students’, 20 Feb. 1904, p. 246, an article, signed ‘Arthur M. Ransome’; ‘Mr. William Archer’s Conversations’, 27 Feb. 1904, p. 258, a review(?) signed ‘Arthur Ransome’; ‘Lamb’s Letters’, 19 Mar. 1904, pp. 293–4, a review of The Works of Charles Lamb, ed. by William Macdonald, signed ‘Arthur Ransome’; and ‘Sakeshima’, 21 Jan. 1905, pp. 192–3, a story, signed ‘Arthur Ransome’. Tim remarks that ‘in 1905 the Week’s Survey ceased to give authorial attributions to articles and reviews: however the Japanese story “Sakeshima” was clearly too substantial to be left anonymous. There are some pieces in that year that appear likely to be by Ransome however: for example, “A Japanese Poet” (Yone Noguchi) on 18 Feb. 1905.’

p. 230, prefatory note to 1911 in Section C: In regard to Ransome’s statement that in 1911 he wrote on Stevenson, Tim Johns offers as a candidate ‘R.L.S.’, a review of The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson by Graham Balfour, in the Eye-Witness, 28 Sept. 1911, pp. 471–2, signed ‘K.’ It may be too much of a stretch to assign authorship of this review to Ransome on the basis of a passing remark in the Autobiography and a signature which merely calls to mind Ransome’s occasional pseudonym ‘K.Q.’, and with no record of the review in Ransome’s diary list of works for 1911, but the possibility deserves mention.

pp. 231–2 (C88): ‘The Art of Telling What Happened’ was reprinted in Mixed Moss 3, no. 7 (Summer 2000), pp. 23–4, with a comment by Tim Johns.

p. 233 (Section C): Tim Johns has noted ‘Meredith’s Letters’, a review of Letters of George Meredith collected and edited by his son, in Eye-Witness, 17 Oct. 1912, pp. 568–9, signed with Ransome’s occasional pseudonym ‘K.Q.’ If this is by Ransome, it would fall chronologically between C107 and C108. However, there is no record of this review in Ransome’s diary list of works for 1912.

p. 233 (C112): For ‘Of the eight works signed “K.Q.” . . . Ransome’s authorship is verified’ read ‘ . . . Ransome’s authorship of five is verified’.

p. 255 (C497). Ransome’s reports to the New York Times have been collected and reprinted by J.M. Gallanar, apparently in two different editions. The first, Arthur Ransome: Dispatches to America, 1918, is listed on Amazon.com as first published 18 February 2009 by CreateSpace, i.e. as a print-on-demand volume, 314 pp., ISBN 978-1-441-48152-8; I have not seen a copy of this, and in any case could not say how or whether one print-on-demand copy differs from another. I do have what is indicated as a ‘revised edition’, maybe also an expanded text (including Ransome’s On Behalf of Russia) given the altered title, Arthur Ransome: Dispatches and Letter to America, 1918, though with fewer pages (292 in my copy, including blanks), published as print-on-demand by Lulu.com, ISBN 978-0-557-11981-3; according to Amazon.com, it was first published on 25 September 2009. In the ‘revised edition’, the New York Times reports are on pp. 1–190, preceded by nearly 70 pages of editorial introduction to Ransome’s texts and the history of the period. And in this edition, at least, Gallanar includes five contributions by Ransome to the New York Times which I overlooked when examining the newspaper on microfilm, and supply below as addenda. Now, of course, one can simply search the New York Times in an electronic database, which I have done to verify (in two cases, correct) Gallanar’s information and to supply page references for the original printings.

p. 256 (C510): For ‘p. 5’ read ‘p. 3’.

p. 256: Add new entry between C510 and C511:

‘Reports That Turks Have Broken the Armistice’. NYT, 14 Jan. 1918, p. 3. Report.

p. 256: Add new entry between C518 and C519:

‘Bolsheviki Prepare Demands on Assembly: Want Recognition of Soviety Authority and the Present Peace Program’. NYT, 19 Jan. 1918, p. 6. Report.

p. 257: Add new entry between C529 and C530:

‘Bury Petrograd Victims: Funeral of Those Killed on Assembly Day Creates No Disturbance’. NYT, 25 Jan. 1918, p. 4. Report.

p. 260: Add new entry between C571 and C572:

‘Trotzky’s View of Japan: Believes Germans Would Welcome Invaders and Ask Them to Stay’. NYT, 25 Mar. 1918, p. 6. Report.

p. 262: Add new entry between C607 and C608:

‘Russia Must Take Breath: Recuperation Necessary before She Can Organize a New Army’. NYT, 21 May 1918, p. 8. Report, ‘from a series of belated telegrams’.

p. 277 (C828.1): ‘Sailing in the Eastern Baltic’ was reprinted in Mixed Moss 3, no. 7 (Summer 2000), pp. 25–7.

pp. 287 (C1001) and 292 (C1096): In regard to these two reviews signed only ‘A.R.’, of books by Jan and Cora Gordon, Ransome mentions the Gordons in his Autobiography, p. 129: ‘Miss Turner, who married Jan Gordon the art critic, and with him produced some lively illustrated travel books, came to Coniston for a few days, and on a general walk over to Ambleside put us all to shame by her tree-climbing skill when we had stopped for bread and cheese and beer by the Drunken Duck at Barngates.’ John Tyner, who reminded me of this passage, owns a copy of The Hoofmarks of the Faun (A12b) inscribed by Ransome to Jan and Cora Gordon in 1914.

p. 299 (note to 1929, l. 3): For ‘C1270’ read ‘C1271’.

Section D

p. 319: Add, between D3 and D4: Prescott, D.M. ‘Meeting Arthur Ransome’. The Golden Book of the Year. Ed. by Dorothy M. Prescott. London: Blandford Press, [1953?]. Pp. 151–6. Includes part of an interview with Ransome.

p. 325 (D39, l. 2): For ‘2, no. 4’ read ‘3, no. 1’.

p. 325 (D41, l. 4): For ‘C164’ read ‘C161’.

Section E

p. 327, prefatory note: I should have noted that in Section E the place of publication is given, or was intended to be given, in the form current in Anglo-American practice. Thus, to be completely consistent, in Chinese 1 ‘Peking’ should have been ‘Beijing’ (although, in 1920, the former would have been correct), and throughout the Japanese section, ‘Tokyo’ should have appeared without circumflexes (which I included to be consistent with the overall romanization practice of Makoto Takahashi).

p. 327 (E: Czech 2): For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’.

p. 327 (E: Czech 3): For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’.

p. 327 (E: Czech 4): For ‘W. Trier’ read ‘Walter Trier’. Also published by Hokr, 1948, illustrations by Zdeněk Burián.

p. 328 (E: Czech 5): For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’.

p. 328 (E: Czech 6): A Czech translation of Coot Club, translator not known, was published by Hokr, 1948, illustrations by Zdeněk Burián.

p. 328 (E: Czech 7): For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’. – Delete the note ‘Also published by SNDK, Prague, 1958’; cf., rather, E: Czech 14.

p. 328 (E: Czech 8): The translation is by Jaromír Hořejš, not Zora Wolfová. For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’. – The Albatros, 1976 edition was illustrated by Jan Čzerný.

p. 328 (E: Czech 9): For ‘Z. Burián’ read ‘Zdeněk Burián’.

p. 328 (E: Czech 10): The maps of the SNDK edition are by Jaromír Vraštil. – The Albatros edition was published in 1982, not 1983.

p. 328 (E: Czech 12): Also published by Toužimský & Moravec, Prague, 1998, illustrations by Ransome.

p. 328 (E: Czech 13): Delete the final note: there was no Albatros, 1997 edition; cf., rather, the final note in E: Czech 14. – Also published by Toužimský & Moravec, Prague, 1999, illustrations by Ransome.

p. 329 (E: Czech 14): Also published by Toužimský & Moravec, Prague, 1998, illustrations by Ransome.

p. 329 (E: Czech 17): For ‘1973’ read ‘1972’; this entry then should precede E: Czech 16.

p. 329 (E: Czech 19): According to Robert Thompson, the Prague 1998 edition has not yet been published.

p. 329 (E: Czech 21): Thompson lists Slečna Lee, a translation by Zora Wolfová, published by Toužimský & Moravec, Prague, 2000, with illustrations by Ransome.

p. 329 (E: Czech, addenda): According to Aleš Durčák, Albatros, Prague are to publish a translation of Great Northern? in July 2001, and Toužimský & Moravec, Prague are to publish a translation of Winter Holiday in November 2001. [Aug. 2008: I have not yet verified that this occurred.]

p. 330 (E: Dutch 2): The upper dust-jacket of Het onbewoonde eiland is reproduced in Ratcliffe, p. 36 (there misdated 1950, for 1955).

p. 331 (E: French 1–3): Add entry, probably between French 1 and 2, or French 2 and 3: Pour la Russie: lettre à l’Amérique by Ransome, published in Paris at 96 quai de Jemmapes, no publisher or date cited in the catalogue of the Bibliothèque Nationale (probably c. 1918–20). This is evidently a translation of ‘An Open Letter to America’ (i.e. On Behalf of Russia).

p. 332 (E. French 9–10): Add entry, between French 9 and 10: Lune de miel sous les tempêtes. Paris: Amiot-Dumont, 1952. In the series Bibliothèque de la mer. Translation, by Michel Bourdet-Pléville, of The Cruise of the Teddy by Erling Tambs, with an introduction by Ransome.

p. 332 (E: German 6): For ‘1967’ read ‘1966’.

p. 333 (E: Hungarian 3): Includes illustrations by Tamás Szecskó. The translation was also published by Magyar Konyvklub, Budapest, 1998.

p. 333 (E: Hungarian 4): The translation was also published by Magyar Konyvklub, Budapest, 1998.

p. 333 (E: Hungarian 5): The translation was also published by Magyar Konyvklub, Budapest, 1998.

p. 336 (E: Polish 1): For ‘Ksi zka’ read ‘Książka’; for ‘Z. Angielskiego’ read ‘Z.’ (‘Angielskiego’ means simply that the work was translated into English).

p. 336 (E: Polish 2): For ‘Jaskolki’ read ‘Jaskółki’. The translation was also published by Nasza Księgarnia, Warsaw, 1975.

p. 336 (E: Polish 3): For ‘Jaskótczyn’ read ‘Jaskółczyn’; for ‘Ksi zka’ read ‘Książka’. The translation was also published by Nasza Księgarnia, Warsaw, 1975.

p. 336 (E: Polish [4]): Add entry: Wyspa krabów. Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia, 1975. Translation of Peter Duck, by Ewa Kołaczkowska.

p. 337 (E: Slovak 1): For ‘Salay’ read ‘Zalay’.

p. 338 (E: Swedish 1): For ‘1938’ read ‘1937’.

p. 338 (E: Swedish 5): Includes illustrations by Ransome.

Appendices and Index

pp. 340–1 (Appendix 1): To the citations following Ransome at Home, add Margaret Ratcliffe, ‘A Gentle Giant’, Mixed Moss 3, no. 6 (Winter 1999), pp. 37–8.

p. 346 (Appendix 2): The Department of Special Collections, Georgetown University Library, have published on their website a guide to their arthur ransome collection.

p. 347, col. 1 (Index): Under ‘Abercrombie, Lascelles’, for ‘C82’ read ‘C83’.

p. 347, col. 2 (Index): The entries for ‘Aksakov, S.T.’ and ‘Aksakov, Sergei’ should be combined, as they refer to the same person.

p. 351, col. 1 (Index): The cross-reference ‘A Child’s Book of the Garden see The Things in Our Garden’ ’A Child’s Book of the Garden see The Things in Our Garden’ p. 6, lists the book under this title, while I preferred the one given on the title-page.

Miscellaneous

Excerpts from Ransome’s works, the exact nature of which is not yet known to me, have appeared also in The Anglers Companion: The Lore of Fishing, compiled by Brian Murphy (New York: Paddington Press, 1978); Halcyon Days: The Nature of Trout Fishing and Fishermen, ed. by Bryn Hammond (Shrewsbury, England: Swan Hill, 1992; Camden, Maine: Ragged Mountain Press, 1992); The Quotable Fisherman, compiled by Nick Lyons (New York: Lyons Press, 1998); Thundering Hooves: A Collection of Horse Stories, compiled by Christine Pullein-Thompson, illustrated by Victor Ambrus (London and New York: Kingfisher, 1996); A Treasury of Stories for Seven Year Olds, chosen by Edward and Nancy Blishen, illustrated by Patricia Ludlow (London: Kingfisher, 1988; New York: Kingfisher, 1992); The Wonder Book of Stories and Poems: A Treasury of Poetry and Prose for Young Readers, ed. by Eric Duthie (London: Hamlyn, 1977; Ontario: B. Mitchell, 1977); and The Youngest Omnibus, ed. by Rosalind Vallance (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1948 printing noted on eBay, but first published in 1934).

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