The first episode of Ulysses was published in the American literary journal, the Little Review, in March 1918, and Ulysses continued to appear there in instalments until September 1920. Some issues of the Little Review were seized by the US postal authorities, who claimed they contained obscene material, and eventually a court case resulted on a ban on the publication of Ulysses in 1921. In England Harriet Weaver couldn’t find printers willing to print Ulysses for her Egoist magazine. Thus in 1921, when there seemed to be no prospect that Ulysses could be published in America or England, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris, offered to publish it. The first Shakespeare and Company edition was published on Joyce’s fortieth birthday, 2 February 1922, and was limited to just one thousand copies.
Press ‘A’ to learn about the writing history of Ulysses Press ‘B’ to learn about the publication history of Ulysses