(one of several magazines I have with Callaghan’s earliest published stories; this July 1928 Scribner’s introduces Callaghan as a new writer; stories: “Regret for Youth”, “A Predicament”)
(from the same year, Callaghan’s first novel; scarce 1st ed. Scribner’s, 1928; dj design: “W”; back cover drawing: O’Leary)
(scarce 1929, 1st ed., Scribner’s; dj design: Margaret Freeman; dj in full and hardbound cover illustration)
(left: novella “An Autumn Penitent” was originally published in A Native Argosy; this is the 1973 Laurentian Library/Macmillan pb, cover art by Annalee Orr; right: 1st ed. scarce dj 1930 Scribner’s; designer unknown)
(published in Paris, 525 signed copies ltd. ed., by Edward W. Titus, 1931; this story has the distinction of being Canada’s first lesbian story by a prominent Canadian author; also,”Last Spring They Came Over” was Canada’s/Callaghan’s first obvious male homosexual story, which appeared in A Native Argosy, 1929)
(1st ed. Macmillan, 1932 rare dj by Ermakoff–this one a replica; rare signed 1976 Laurentian Library/Macmillan pb)
(rare beautiful 1st ed. 1934 Scribner’s dj; uncredited artist; rare Key Porter Audio ed. read by Neil Munro with rare postscript comments by Callaghan)
(3 more 1st eds.; left: rare dj Random House, 1935, dj design: Georg Salter; middle: nice 1936 Random House dj designed by Eichenberg, book was made into a rare movie never put on VHS or DVD; scarce 1937 Random House dj by Lieberman–this book was filmed by CBC starring John Vernon as Kip)
(1948 Macmillan; dj and illustrations by Eric Aldwinckle who co-signed this book with Callaghan)
(left: the rare 1st ed. dj, 1948 John Winston, illustrated by Stanley Turner; right; 1974 Scholastic-Tab pb, illustrated by Michael Poulton)
(his only G-G win–1951; left: scarce Macmillan, 1951 dj, jacket design: Leo Manso, cost $3; middle: the interesting revised 1961 Macmillan dj by Aleksander Werner; right: the 1959 pb Signet; design: Allison, cost 50 cents)
(1st ed. 1959, Macmillan full dj, design: Klenman-Davidson Productions, Toronto)
(full signed 1st ed. dj, Coward-McCann dj, photo: Lee Thody, Rome, jacket design: Ronald Clyne)
(left: full signed 1st ed. dj, Macmillan, 1961; jacket design: Ben Feder; Dell, 1962 pb)
(left: 1st ed. Coward-McCann, 1963; dj design by Janet Halverson; right: uncredited photo from time when Callaghan knew Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Paris; c.f. Hemingway LP below)
(rare signed 1st ed. Exile/Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1985; cover illustrations are details (reversed) from Philip Surrey’s “Green Cityscape; design by Spencer/Francey Incorporated)
(scarce signed 1988 1st ed. dj Stoddart with back cover photo of author toward the end of his life; design Brant Cowie/Art Plus Ltd.; cover illustration: Michael Callaghan, photo: Brian Summers)
(Callaghan was one of the first major Canadian authors who did many magazine pieces and television talk shows; left: story published in Chatelaine, July, 1958; right: article published in Star Weekly Magazine, July 23, 1960)
(1970 2 LP CBC Radio broadcast with Callaghan and many others talking about Hemingway; cover by Karsh, Ottawa)
Novelist and short-story writer Morley (Edward) Callaghan (1903-1990) was a long-time Torontonian who chose to make his work base in Canada after his initial literary successes. He worked for the Toronto Star during which time he became a friend of Ernest Hemingway, similarly starting out. He later spent time in Paris with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and other American writers, a time which he documented in That Summer in Paris.
Many of his books and stories have Roman Catholic characters and conflicts (e.g., “A Sick Call”, Such Is My Beloved). His book and story Luke Baldwin’s Vow became juvenile classics, often studied in Canadian schools. More generally, his work was compared with that of Chekhov and Turgenev. His work was well-known in the States during the 1920s-1940s , and he was fortunate to have supportive American publishers in his early years. CBC produced a tv documentary on him as part of the Life & Times series. And his own son Barry is a well-known Canadian author himself.