A Feather for Fitzgerald

On the left, the first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's debut novel This Side of Paradise, published by Scribner's in 1920. On the right, an ensemble from Oscar de la Renta's Fall Collection 2010 RTW.

As you might have guessed, the first edition and the outfit are astronomically expensive. So, instead of possessing either, we might as well ponder the book.

Here is a little something Fitzgerald wrote in 1937, on what it felt like to have his first novel meet ink and plate:

"Then the postman rang, and that day I quit work and ran along the streets, stopping automobiles to tell friends and acquaintances about it—my novel This Side of Paraise was accepted for publication. That week the postman rang and rang, and I paid off my terrible small debts, bought a suit, and woke up every morning with a world of ineffable toploftiness and promise.

-"Early Success" American Cavalcade (October 1937)

He had personal reasons to feel toplofty, too, for he's written the novel in great part to dazzle and win back the favor—and the hand—of Zelda Sayre, who said she would accept an engagement ring only once a publisher had accepted his manuscript. When Scribner's did just that in 1920, she agreed to marry him.