I collect multiple copies of The Elements of Style. In this blog entry, I will display my collection, and identify some of the revisions for each edition. To date, I have twenty-one copies of The Elements of Style, and one copy of The Elements and Practice of Composition. Seven copies of The Elements of Style are collectible copies of pre-1959 editions. One of them is a copy of the 1919 edition. Four of them are copies of the 1920 First Trade Edition. Another is a copy of the circa 1934 Revised Edition. And the last is a copy of the circa 1940 edition, published after Strunk retired.
I am actively seeking a copy of the 1918 edition. Please contact me if you have a copy available. In the meantime, I will refer to the 1918 edition on Bartleby.com.
Below is an image of a copy of a 1919 edition of The Elements of Style which I recently acquired.
The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr.
Ithaca, N.Y., 1919.
Press of W.F. Humphrey, Geneva, N.Y.
43p.
in paper wrappers
Surprisingly, there were several changes between the 1918 and 1919 editions.
The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr.
New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1920
52p.
There were several changes in the 1920 edition as well.
I. Introductory: There were minor changes to the wording in this chapter.
II. Elementary Rules of Usage: One rule, rule 8, "Divide words at line-ends in accordance with their formation and pronunciation," was eliminated in the 1920 edition.
III. Elementary Principles of Composition: One principle, "use definite, specific, concrete language," was added .
IV. A Few Matters of Form: One additional heading, "Syllabication," was added. The Syllabication chapter provided clearer methods of dividing words at the end of a sentence than Chapter II, Rule 8 of the 1918 edition.
V. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused: There were minor word changes.
The title of Chapter VI was changed from "Words Often Misspelled" to "Spelling." Several words were deleted while others were added.
A new chapter was added to the 1920 edition: VII. Exercises on Chapters I and II. It contained 25 exercises printed on three pages.
The Elements of Style, Revised Edition
by William Strunk Jr. and Edward A. Tenney
New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, c.1934
(3) 62p.
The 1934 edition is a totally different book than the earlier editions. In fact, when 47 practice leaves were added to the 1935 and 1936 editions, the title was changed to The Elements and Practice of Composition. I had never seen a copy of either the 1935 or 1936 edition available for sale until last week when I spotted a copy of a 1936 edition on Amazon.com. I grabbed it.
The Elements and Practice of Composition by William Strunk Jr. and Edward A. Tenney New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1936 (iv), 60p. (47)
The Table of Abbreviations used in criticism changed somewhat as well.
The 47 practice leaves were included in the 1935 and 1936 editions. The practice leaves were in tablet form for the 1934 edition. This practice proved to be inconvenient and expensive. The practice leaves for the 1936 edition were removable, and students were instructed to tear out the assigned leaf , write the exercise in pen, and turn them in at the beginning of the class. Each leaf had two sides. My copy is lacking leafs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 ,14, and 36.
The Elements of Style
By William Strunk, Jr., Professor of English, Emeritius, Cornell University
Ithaca, N.Y., The Thrift Press, c.1940
52p.
in paper wrappers
This is the first pre-1959 edition I bought, acquiring it sometime in 2000. The key information in determining when this edition was published is the term "Emeritus." Strunk retired in October, 1937, meaning this edition was published sometime after 1936. The format of the Strunk & Tenney edition evidently wasn't popular at Cornell because Cornell went back to using the same Table of Contents as the earlier editions.
The Elements of Style
By William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
New York, The Macmillan Company, 1959
xiv, 71p.
This is a later printing, in hardback, of the 1999 Fourth Edition of The Elements of Style. Roger Angell, White's stepson, edited this edition, providing a new Forward, and updating some of the examples. The marked price of this edition is $14.95.
This is a softcover copy of the Fourth Edition.
Below is an image of a copy of a 1919 edition of The Elements of Style which I recently acquired.
What struck me right off was that the 1919 edition was privately printed by W. F. Humphrey, Geneva, N.Y.. The 1918 edition was privately printed by W. P. Humphrey, Geneva, N.Y. – at least, that's what everyone, including me, has been lead to believe (See footnote at the end of this post).
Surprisingly, there were several changes between the 1918 and 1919 editions.
In the 1918 edition, Rule 4 read:
Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.
In the 1919 edition, Rule 4 was changed to read:
Place a comma before a conjunction introducing a co-ordinate clause.
Several words, including the word, but, were added to Section V. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused.
Several words were added to Section VI. Words Often Misspelled. The following information was added after the list of words often misspelled:
Note that a single consonant (other than v) preceded by a stressed vowel is doubled before -ed and -ing: planned, letting, occurring. (Coming is an exception.)
The edition pictured above is known as the First Trade Edition or the 1920 Edition. I bought my first copy in May, 2001, and have bought six copies in all (I gave two copies away as gifts). I have seen listings for another ten copies.
There were several changes in the 1920 edition as well.
I. Introductory: There were minor changes to the wording in this chapter.
II. Elementary Rules of Usage: One rule, rule 8, "Divide words at line-ends in accordance with their formation and pronunciation," was eliminated in the 1920 edition.
III. Elementary Principles of Composition: One principle, "use definite, specific, concrete language," was added .
IV. A Few Matters of Form: One additional heading, "Syllabication," was added. The Syllabication chapter provided clearer methods of dividing words at the end of a sentence than Chapter II, Rule 8 of the 1918 edition.
V. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused: There were minor word changes.
The title of Chapter VI was changed from "Words Often Misspelled" to "Spelling." Several words were deleted while others were added.
A new chapter was added to the 1920 edition: VII. Exercises on Chapters I and II. It contained 25 exercises printed on three pages.
This edition is known as the Strunk & Tenney Edition of 1934, or the Revised Edition. Revise it they did, revamping the entire Table of Contents:
I don't know how much input Edward A. Tenney had in this revision, but I suspect it was quite a bit. I do believe, however, that Strunk was responsible for providing a ready reference table for abbreviations and numbers used in criticism of papers graded in the Cornell course on English Usage and Style.
The 1934 edition is a totally different book than the earlier editions. In fact, when 47 practice leaves were added to the 1935 and 1936 editions, the title was changed to The Elements and Practice of Composition. I had never seen a copy of either the 1935 or 1936 edition available for sale until last week when I spotted a copy of a 1936 edition on Amazon.com. I grabbed it.
The 1936 edition is a softcover and is two inches longer and one and a half inches wider than the 1920 and 1934 editions.
Surprisingly, the Table of Contents of the 1936 edition was totally revised from that of the 1934 edition. I believe that Edward Tenney was responsible for the changes because Strunk was in Hollywood from July 1935 to June 1936 as the technical adviser for MGM's Romeo and Juliet, directed by George Cukor.
The Table of Abbreviations used in criticism changed somewhat as well.
The 47 practice leaves were included in the 1935 and 1936 editions. The practice leaves were in tablet form for the 1934 edition. This practice proved to be inconvenient and expensive. The practice leaves for the 1936 edition were removable, and students were instructed to tear out the assigned leaf , write the exercise in pen, and turn them in at the beginning of the class. Each leaf had two sides. My copy is lacking leafs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 ,14, and 36.
This is the first pre-1959 edition I bought, acquiring it sometime in 2000. The key information in determining when this edition was published is the term "Emeritus." Strunk retired in October, 1937, meaning this edition was published sometime after 1936. The format of the Strunk & Tenney edition evidently wasn't popular at Cornell because Cornell went back to using the same Table of Contents as the earlier editions.
This is the book that E.B. White made famous. I currently have three copies, two of which are first printings of the book club edition. The other copy, a fifth printing, is lacking the dust jacket. E.B. White used a Table of Contents similar to that of the earlier editions, while adding a chapter on writing at the end:
Folded inside one of my copies of the 1959 edition was the following article about William Strunk Jr. written by a well-known personality:
This is a paperback copy of the 1960 9th printing of the 1959 First Edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.
Two copies of the 1962 Macmillan Paperbacks Edition. One of them is the fifteenth printing (1967) of the 1959 edition, and the other is the seventeenth printing (1968). Both copies were marked $.95.
This is a paperback copy of the 1972 Second Edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Its marked price is $1.25. Strunk deleted the Note on this Book and included the information in the Introduction. He kept the same Table of Contents as before, while providing additional examples of rules and updating other examples.
Immediately below are three paperback copies of the 1979 Third Edition with Index, all of which are different printings. The listed price of the eighth printing was $2.95. The listed price of the twenty-third printing was $4.95. And the listed price of the thirty-second printing was $5.95.
This is an oversized paperback copy of the 1979 Third Edition with the Index. Its price is unmarked.
Here are two later paperback printings of the 1979 Third Edition without the Index. The marked price of one copy is $1.95, while the price of the other copy is unmarked. The major difference between the second and third editions is that Strunk added four rules to Chapter I. Elementary Rules of Usage.
This is a paperback copy of the 1960 9th printing of the 1959 First Edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.
Two copies of the 1962 Macmillan Paperbacks Edition. One of them is the fifteenth printing (1967) of the 1959 edition, and the other is the seventeenth printing (1968). Both copies were marked $.95.
This is a paperback copy of the 1972 Second Edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Its marked price is $1.25. Strunk deleted the Note on this Book and included the information in the Introduction. He kept the same Table of Contents as before, while providing additional examples of rules and updating other examples.
Immediately below are three paperback copies of the 1979 Third Edition with Index, all of which are different printings. The listed price of the eighth printing was $2.95. The listed price of the twenty-third printing was $4.95. And the listed price of the thirty-second printing was $5.95.
This is an oversized paperback copy of the 1979 Third Edition with the Index. Its price is unmarked.
Here are two later paperback printings of the 1979 Third Edition without the Index. The marked price of one copy is $1.95, while the price of the other copy is unmarked. The major difference between the second and third editions is that Strunk added four rules to Chapter I. Elementary Rules of Usage.
This is a later printing, in hardback, of the 1999 Fourth Edition of The Elements of Style. Roger Angell, White's stepson, edited this edition, providing a new Forward, and updating some of the examples. The marked price of this edition is $14.95.
This is a softcover copy of the Fourth Edition.
This concludes the display of My Elements of Style Collection. If you'd like to see Strunk's other books which are in my library, click here.
Footnote.
See my post: A Correction to the Bibliographic and Copyright Records of Strunk's Elements of Style.
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