Joyce, James. JAMES JOYCE READING "ANNA LIVIA PLURABELLE.".

Cambridge: Orthological Institute, [N.D. but circa 1929]. 78 rpm phonograph record. The first pressing (Slocum & Cahoon, page 173) of Joyce reading the "Anna Livia Plurabelle" episode from "Finnegans Wake." The recording session took place in August of 1929 at a time when Joyce's eyesight had deteriorated considerably. As Richard Ellmann writes in his biography of Joyce (page 630): "He found time also to record the last pages of 'Anna Livia' for Ogden at the Orthological Institute; the pages had been prepared for him in half-inch letters, but the light in the studio was so weak that Joyce still could not read them. He had therefore to be prompted in a whisper throughout, his achievement being, as Ogden said, all the more remarkable." The recording is in fine condition, a singular feat of preservation considering its fragility. Housed in a cloth clamshell box that is plush-lined and in a cloth chemise.