Ulysses was first published on 2 February 1922 — Joyce’s fortieth birthday — by Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare and Company at 12 rue de l’Odéon, Paris. The edition of 1,000 numbered copies was printed by Maurice Darantière in Dijon and issued in three states distinguished by paper stock.
The Three Issues
Issue 1 (Nos. 1–100): Printed on Holland handmade paper, signed by Joyce in blue ink on the limitation page. These are the summit of modernist book collecting.
Issue 2 (Nos. 101–250): Printed on vergé d’Arches paper, unsigned. The secondary market for these copies has strengthened considerably since 2015.
Issue 3 (Nos. 251–1000): Printed on handmade paper in the publisher’s blue printed wrappers. This is the most commonly encountered issue but still commands six-figure prices in fine condition.
Points of Issue
The cancel leaves at chapters 6 and 17 are present in all correctly constituted copies. The errata leaf, inserted before the colophon, is integral to the first printing. Copies lacking the errata leaf are considered incomplete.