Conrad, Joseph

8vo (215 x 140mm.), first separate (and revised) edition, 7pp. stapled pamphlet (as issued), with a four-line inscription by Conrad at the head of the text ("This preface suppressed at the time of first pub- | lication was printed by W. Henley as an Afterword | in the New Review and the end of the last instalment | of the story. J. Conrad".), preserved in green cloth case and matching quarter green morocco slipcase, spine gilt, minor rust stains around single staple

Christie's,  24 June 1992, lot 121

Cagle A3f

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The rare separate edition of the suppressed preface, limited to 100 copies privately printed for friends (of which 40, according to the author, were accidentally destroyed). Conrad has also signed and dated the final page ("Joseph Conrad | 18 March 1919") and made one small correction on the first page. "Sometime after publication of the 'Preface' as an author's note in the December 1897 issue of the New Review Conrad worked over his original manuscript making a number of changes. In November 1902 he had one hundred copies of the revised text printed in pamphlet form by J. Lovick of Hythe..." (Cagle. p.32). The Preface did not appear in the first English edition of the book since (according to Karl, p.397) Pawley of Heinemann refused to publish it with the novel. The version published in the New Review (by Henley) following the last instalment of the serial differs in omissions and details from the one Conrad originally wrote: the present lot therefore is the first version as Conrad himself wanted it to appear.

Conrad's preface to The Nigger of the "Narcissus", in which he cites the need to do "the highest kind of justice to the visible universe", is a document of overwhelming personal importance, an artistic manifesto summing up his life as an artist until 1897 and a harbinger of the artist to come (see Karl, p.394ff.).

...My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel—it is, before all, to make you see. That—and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there according to your deserts: encouragement, consolation, fear, charm—all you demand—and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask. To snatch in a moment of courage, from the remorseless rush of time, a passing phase of life, is only the beginning of the task...