Category: Gurdjieff

I wanted to put this brief bibliography together mostly to help resolve confusion around the contents of the three main books of Henri Tracol’s writings in English. The main point is simple, the most recently published, The Real Question Remains, Morning Light Press 2009, contains everything from the previous publications, except for one piece which originally appeared in Parabola.

However, in the interest of recording the bibliographic details, here is a rundown of the contents of each English publication in book form. Many of the pieces appeared separately in periodicals. I have not captured all of these details.

Man, Heaven, Earth. Bray: Pembridge Design Studios, 1980, 13 pages.

Further Talks, Essays and Interviews. Bray, The Guild Press, 2003, 71 pages.
Contents:
A note on the use of the word ‘master’
Yes, Memory . . .
Memory and Forgetting
The Study of Traditions
The Master
How to Remain Open?
At Gordes
In New York: The Critical Mind
In New York: Work on Oneself
At Armonk: Morning Talks
A Life  . . .  A Search
Let Us Not Conclude

The Real Question Remains: Gurdjieff: A Living Call. Sandpoint: Morning Light Press, 2009, 228 pages.
Contents:
Foreword (by Tracol)
I: Disillusion and Dissatisfaction:
The Taste For Things That Are True
II: Studies and Questions on Culture and Traditional Perspectives:
Man, Heaven, Earth
A Born Seeker
Birth of a Sculpture
Individual Culture
In Search of a Living Culture
Why Sleepest Thou, O Lord?
Thus Spake Beelzebub
III: The Discovery of a Teaching:
Questions put to Henri Tracol by Luc Dietrich
Testimony
Gurdjieff and the Science of Being
Between Flights
Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff: Man’s Awakening and the Practice of Remembering Oneself
Interview (With Robert Amadou for magazine Question de, No. 50, 1982)
A Question of Balance
Yes, Memory
Memory and Forgetting
The Study of Traditions
The Master
How to Remain Open?
At Gordes
At Armonk: Morning Talks
In New York: Work on Oneself
In New York: The Critical Mind
Impressions
The Work in Life
IV: An Afterword:
A Life  . . .  A Search
V: The Real Question Remains . . . :
Some Reflections on What is Specific to Gurdjieff’s Teaching (Tracol’s contribution to Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching; in Further Talks, Essays and Interviews as Let Us Not Conclude)

Meetings with Remarkable Men by G.I. Gurdjieff was first published in 1963 in London by RKP and in New York by Dutton. I assume the London came first. The Dutton edition states “First published in the U.S.A, 1963” and “Printed in Great Britain”. Dutton reprinted at least three times. I have seen Dutton printings that state “fourth printing”.

Sometime, I assume later than the fourth Dutton printing, in the late 60’s or early 70’s it was reprinted by University Books, a publisher specializing in inexpensive reprints of metaphysical, occult and religious titles. The University books edition appears to have used the first Dutton plates with very minor modifications. The only difference in the printing is that the University books edition states “Printed in the U.S.A.” at the bottom of the copyright page and there is a standard “No part of this book may be reproduced…” blurb in the middle of the page. The title page states “Dutton/1963” and the copyright page still states “First published in the U.S.A, 1963” with no other printing information. So it is understandable that many people mistake it for the first. 

The only other differences are in the binding, the paper size and quality, and the jacket.

• The first Dutton has “Dutton” printed on the bottom of the jacket spine. The University Press edition has no publisher on the jacket spine.
• The Dutton has quotations from reviews, most notably, including Frank Lloyd Wright, on the back of the jacket. The University Press edition has a listing of books from the “Library of the Mystic Arts.” The one fact that should make people question the authenticity of the reprint: it states “University Books (logo) New Hyde Park, New York” on the bottom of the rear of the jacket.
• The Dutton has a price of $6.95. The reprint price is $5.95.
• The first Dutton measures 8 3/4′ X 5 3/4′ X 1 1/8′. The reprint measures approximately 8 1/2′ X 5 3/4′ X 1 1/4′.
• Finally, the cloth of the reprint is a pale blue with white threads in it, it is a coarse cloth and has Gurdjieff’s signature embossed in the front in gold. The first Dutton cloth is solid deep blue with the cover plain.