If you spend long enough collecting Dunsany titles in different editions as I have, you can run into curious differences between these editions. Different illustrations between U.S and UK releases, changes in story order, names of illustrations, etc. When I knew very little about publishing and the art of printing books these differences seemed magical and mysterious. They also spurred on my desire to collect alternate versions of books I already had because of the hidden treasures, even small, I might find in them.
After acquiring the 1st American Luce edition of The Gods of Pegana I began to look at other editions. The first English edition of 1905 by Elkin Mathews would of course have to be purchased. Unfortunately the $500 plus pricetag prevented me from buying it even to this day.
But I stumbled upon listings for a 2nd edition released by Pegana Press in 1911 that appeared to be identical in construction and covers to the Elkin Mathews books I was familiar with. The title page showed a different address for Pegana Press as the publisher than Elkin Mathews used. I've never found another title ever released under the Pegana Press imprint and was very intrigued. Why this one edition? Why the difference when they appeared to be made by the same people? There seemed to be an unusual story behind this book.
I decided then I would revive the mysterious Pegana Press to release new material when I was ready.
It seemed appropriate to give its Spirit more work to glue and mutter over.
I suspect now it had to do with a copyright issue of some kind as most of the differences between editions can be traced to . But really, there's no mystery in that answer, and I prefer the enigma to the answer.
I still don't know the answer even though the curator probably knows and would tell me but somehow we're always busy with other matters when we communicate. I hope to ask him over a pint in a Dublin pub some day.
As for us, the mystery and shadow of that Spirit ,we hope, will continue to imbue our books and breathe life into them for a time.
Mike Tortorello
Pegana Press
(the younger)
The Gods Of Pegana 2nd edition pictured.
(we don't actually own this lovely book)
