- 224
Conrad, Joseph and Ford Madox Hueffer
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description
- The Inheritors. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1901
- PAPER
8vo, first edition, presentation copy inscribed by the author to H.G. Wells ("To | H.G. Wells | affectionately | from Joseph Conrad | 1901") on front free endpaper, title-page printed in orange and black, original pictorial beige smooth cloth with illustration in red, black and gilt, spine lettered in black, minor spotting, slightly skewed, some professional restoration to hinges
An exceptional association copy.
Association copies of books inscribed by Conrad to major writers are extremely scarce. Of additional rarity is Conrad's inscription: there are no records for copies of The Inheritors inscribed solely by Conrad sold at auction in the last forty years.
Conrad and Wells first made contact after Wells’ review of An Outcast of the Islands in the Saturday Review in 1896. When Conrad moved to Pent Farm in 1898 he and Wells became near-neighbours and were in regular contact until around 1906. Knowles and Moore note that ‘The period from 1898 to 1905 represents the high point of their relationship. One indicator of their imaginative closeness is signalled by their mutual echoing of each other’s work – in Conrad’s case, through likely echoes in ‘Heart of Darkness’ of The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898), as well as a very obvious debt in his collaborated work with Ford Madox Ford, The Inheritors (1901), to Wells’s scientific romances in general’.
After this period, the two writers began to show marked differences in their social, artistic and political views. Yet in 1907 Conrad would dedicate The Secret Agent to Wells as ‘...the historian of the ages to come’. By 1909 the friendship had significantly cooled. Writing in his Experiment in Autobiography (1934), Wells stated ‘We never really “got on” together. I was perhaps more unsympathetic and incomprehensible to Conrad than he was to me. I think he found me Philistine, stupid and intensely English’.
An exceptional association copy.
Association copies of books inscribed by Conrad to major writers are extremely scarce. Of additional rarity is Conrad's inscription: there are no records for copies of The Inheritors inscribed solely by Conrad sold at auction in the last forty years.
Conrad and Wells first made contact after Wells’ review of An Outcast of the Islands in the Saturday Review in 1896. When Conrad moved to Pent Farm in 1898 he and Wells became near-neighbours and were in regular contact until around 1906. Knowles and Moore note that ‘The period from 1898 to 1905 represents the high point of their relationship. One indicator of their imaginative closeness is signalled by their mutual echoing of each other’s work – in Conrad’s case, through likely echoes in ‘Heart of Darkness’ of The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898), as well as a very obvious debt in his collaborated work with Ford Madox Ford, The Inheritors (1901), to Wells’s scientific romances in general’.
After this period, the two writers began to show marked differences in their social, artistic and political views. Yet in 1907 Conrad would dedicate The Secret Agent to Wells as ‘...the historian of the ages to come’. By 1909 the friendship had significantly cooled. Writing in his Experiment in Autobiography (1934), Wells stated ‘We never really “got on” together. I was perhaps more unsympathetic and incomprehensible to Conrad than he was to me. I think he found me Philistine, stupid and intensely English’.
Provenance
H.G. Wells, authorial inscription
Literature
Cagle A6a(2)
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where 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."
"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."