“Great Gatsby” materials on display

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, now generally recognized as the closest approximation to “The Great American Novel” and a staple of the high school curriculum, is embarking on yet another new life. Today, a film adaptation opens starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann, and it has already been described as one of the most stylish movies ever made. Three previous movies and one television drama based on Gatsby reflect their time periods as much as they do the Twenties.

The film has sent the paperback edition soaring to the top of the Amazon best-seller list. Yet the first edition (1925) was only a modest success, as Fitzgerald notes in a letter in the Ransom Center’s collection. Although his literary reputation went into a swoon in the late 1930s and 40s, the novel was reprinted from time to time, though it was rarely regarded as an American classic. More than a decade after the author’s early death in 1940, biographical and critical re-evaluations finally established The Great Gatsby’s permanent place in the canon of modern fiction. In the above slideshow, a group of editions from the Ransom Center’s collections shows its progress from first edition to the current movie mass-market tie-in. Not for the first time in its history and probably not for the last, Gatsby has been born again.

A case of materials related to The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald are on display in the Ransom Center lobby through June 9.

Please click on thumbnails for larger images.

Press book for the Francis Ford Coppola film, 1974. Perhaps taking its cue from Daisy Buchanan (“you always look so cool,” she says, referring to her lover Jay Gatsby), the movie features a suave title character, played by Robert Redford, and a pastel, soft-focus look.

Movie still for “The Great Gatsby” (1949). This remake was to have starred Gene Tierney and Tyrone Power, but when Tierney was dropped, Power left the cast. Alan Ladd and Betty Field played Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. The film is rarely seen on television due to rights issues.

Movie still for “The Great Gatsby” (1926). Fitzgerald received around $13,500 for the film rights and was reportedly disappointed in the production, starring Warner Baxter and Lois Wilson. The only part of the movie that remains is the trailer.

Armed Services Edition of "The Great Gatsby." These editions were were small, compact, paperback books printed by the Council on Books in Wartime for distribution within the American military during World War II. The books were meant to provide entertainment to soldiers overseas. — Armed Services Edition of “The Great Gatsby.” These editions were were small, compact, paperback books printed by the Council on Books in Wartime for distribution within the American military during World War II. The books were meant to provide entertainment to soldiers overseas.

The Great Gatsby" (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1950). This edition is the classic Penguin look of the 1940s and 1950s. — The Great Gatsby” (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1950). This edition is the classic Penguin look of the 1940s and 1950s.

"The Great Gatsby" (New York: Bantam, 1945). This mass-market paperback cover emphasizing the high life of the Twenties. — “The Great Gatsby” (New York: Bantam, 1945). This mass-market paperback cover emphasizing the high life of the Twenties.

The first edition of "The Great Gatsby" (New York: Scribner’s, 1925). The dust jacket by Francis Cugat incorporates several themes of the novel, while maintaining a certain ambiguity. The eyes most likely belong to Daisy, “the girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs” of Jay Gatsby’s consciousness. The jacket was completed before the novel, and Fitzgerald was so fond of it that he claimed he wrote it into his book. Today, intact dust jackets are exceptionally valuable; both of our copies have been repaired. — The first edition of “The Great Gatsby” (New York: Scribner’s, 1925). The dust jacket by Francis Cugat incorporates several themes of the novel, while maintaining a certain ambiguity. The eyes most likely belong to Daisy, “the girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs” of Jay Gatsby’s consciousness. The jacket was completed before the novel, and Fitzgerald was so fond of it that he claimed he wrote it into his book. Today, intact dust jackets are exceptionally valuable; both of our copies have been repaired.

Image: The first edition of The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribner’s, 1925). The dust jacket by Francis Cugat incorporates several themes of the novel, while maintaining a certain ambiguity. The eyes most likely belong to Daisy, “the girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs” of Jay Gatsby’s consciousness. The jacket was completed before the novel, and Fitzgerald was so fond of it that he claimed he wrote it into his book. Today, intact dust jackets are exceptionally valuable; both of our copies have been repaired.

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