Majority 1931-1952: An Anthology of 21 Years of Publishing by Hamish Hamilton & Various Contributors

Majority 1931-1952: An Anthology of 21 Years of Publishing is an impressive literary anthology issued by the celebrated London publishing house Hamish Hamilton in 1952 to commemorate twenty-one years of publishing. Founded in 1931, Hamish Hamilton became associated with a distinguished range of British and international writers, and this substantial volume brings together selections representing the firm’s first two decades.

Running to approximately 1,035 pages, Majority 1931-1952 provides a fascinating snapshot of mid-twentieth-century literary publishing and the authors who helped establish the Hamish Hamilton list. The anthology draws from fiction, essays, general writing, plays and poetry and includes material associated with notable literary figures such as Albert Camus, Nancy Mitford, Jean-Paul Sartre, Stephen Spender and J. D. Salinger. It therefore has appeal not only as an anthology of literature but also as a record of an important period in British publishing history.

Published in London in 1952, this first edition copy of Majority 1931-1952 is particularly interesting to collectors of twentieth-century literature, publishing history and books relating to major British publishing houses. The distinctive Hamish Hamilton tree-and-book device appears on the original cloth binding.

A substantial and wide-ranging volume, Majority 1931-1952 offers readers an unusual opportunity to explore the literary identity of one of Britain’s notable twentieth-century publishers through selections from the books it published during its formative twenty-one years.

Condition – Fair

Original cloth boards are externally covered in clear plastic and show considerable fading, rubbing, marks and edge wear beneath. Text-block edges are heavily soiled and spotted, with foxing visible to the preliminary pages. Prior ownership and gift inscriptions in ink to the endpapers.