Just in time for the release of the 2013 remake of the film, I came across this copy of The Great Gatsby.

This edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is notable for several reasons. It is a first edition from 1925. However, what makes it truly unique is the inscription; Fitzgerald dedicated this copy to T.S. Eliot. Although an “enthusiastic worshipper” of the poet, Fitzgerald has misspelled Eliot’s last name:

Written in pencil beneath the inscription is the barely discernible “Pencil comments by TSE.” Eliot read through the book, making comments in the margins in pencil throughout.

It should also be noted that I photographed this book differently than many of the items I digitize. In DPS, we often photograph books in a book cradle, page-by-page. However, this book was digitized for inclusion in the updated History & Guide, so I also provided photographs of the book as an object. I wanted to show the book as three-dimensionally as possible, and made a number of photographs showing it open in varying degrees, and from different angles.

A favorite shot is below, where you can see the front of the book. I had to use special lighting (a raking light from the right) to illuminate the blind-embossed title and author text.