Inspiring Older Readers

posted on 15 Apr 2020

 

The Overcoat by Nicolai Gogol, illustrated by John Edward Craig

I might be wrong about this but I have the impression that the production of rather beautiful, individual editions of classic short stories is something that went out of fashion not long after this little gem was produced in 1956. Of course, there are still private presses and art editions that come through occasionally and slim gift editions around Christmas time but I suspect that the modern day economics of the publishing world prohibit the commissioning of publications like Gogol’s ‘The Overcoat’.

I’m not particularly interested here in an appreciation of Gogol’s short story of a Russian Civil Servant’s travails in scrimping and saving for a new overcoat, how he is robbed of the garment and how his ghost exacts revenge on the corrupt and complacent bureaucrats that ignored his pleas for help. What I do want to say something about is what a gorgeous printed artefact The Merlin Press of London created in 1956.

Interestingly, Gogol’s short story appears in the year of Merlin’s foundation and reflects the owners desire to create an outlet for Socialist publications. The archive of Merlin is housed with Reading University and their website prefaces that archive with the following outline of the firm’s activities:

“Martin Eve founded the Merlin Press in 1956. The core of the Merlin list was works of politics, history and philosophy associated with the New Left. In 1964 the press launched the Socialist Register which set the tone for the whole Merlin list in its commitment and freedom from any party line. The revival of the left in universities meant the journal was well received and gave Merlin Press more financial stability from which it went on to publish, amongst other authors, books by E.P. Thompson and Ralph Miliband.”

The Overcoat, which runs to 64 pages, is bound in a light blue cloth with gold impressed title and author on the front board and is a handy pocket size. The jacket, and the illustrations inside (which you can see below), were done by John Edward Craig – an illustrator who, like some others we’ve looked at on this site, seems to have slipped down the back of the virtual sofa because I can find out nothing about him from the usual internet searches. Craig's illustrations, which are predominantly what appears to be pen and ink with pencil and water-colour wash in black and gray tones highlighted with deep sepia detail, provide the story with tremendous atmosphere. I loved the nightmarish nature of the drawings that use extreme close-up and horror-story conventions to achieve their effects. The ghost story seeps its way into the drawings.

The translation of the story was done by David Magarshack, a Latvian by birth who became a naturalised British citizen and the leading translator of Russian classics from the likes of Dostoyevsky, Gogol and Pushkin.

The first print run in 1956 was only small and there was a reprint in 1964 – so first editions are comparatively rare. Despite this you will still be able to pick up copies with the dust jacket for under £10 – which I think is a remarkable bargain.

 

Terry Potter

April 2020

(Click on any image below to view the images in a slide show format)

 

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