From the Archive:
The Whitsun Weddings First Edition
By Faber Editor, 5 August 2022
A century after his birth, we mark the Philip Larkin centenary in 2022.
To celebrate a new edition of his most famous collection, we take a look in the Faber Archive at a first edition of The Whitsun Weddings.
Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings was published by Faber & Faber in 1964.
It had been nine years since his previous collection, The Less Deceived, had been published.
The Whitsun Weddings, whose title poem is arguably Larkin’s most famous, includes many of his most popular poems: ‘Days’, ‘MCMXIV’, ‘Dockery and Son’, ‘An Arundel Tomb’ and ‘For Sidney Bechet’.
The Faber Archive, at our Bloomsbury offices, has a first edition of the collection (pictured). The hardcover book has a distinctive cover design, by legendary Faber designer Berthold Wolpe.
That design has been adapted by Anna Morrison for our new Members Edition of The Whitsun Weddings, which will be published on the day of what would have been Larkin’s 100th birthday — 9 August 2022.
Related Links
More links for The Whitsun Weddings and Philip Larkin:
Two more editions of The Whitsun Weddings sit alongside the first edition in the archive (pictured).
The green cover, a paperback edition, has a very different visual style.
The white cover to the right draws closely from the first edition in its design, but has been adapted to fit the Faber Editions series, which has recently been relaunched.
These are just a few of many editions, such as the Faber Modern Classics Edition.
Available Now
This centenary edition of Philip Larkin’s much-loved first collection with Faber has been specially designed for Faber Members, recreating the iconic first edition. Available exclusively from faber.co.uk.
Join Faber Members, for FREE, to buy.