Conrad, Joseph

folio, 24 parts, original serialized publication within "Magazine Section" of The New York Herald, complete issues of Magazine Section of the newspaper, coloured illustrations, collector's chemise and brown morocco-backed slipcase, single fold to each issue, some browning, extremities chipped with occasional loss

John Quinn, bookplate on chemise, his sale, The Anderson Galleries, 12-14 November 1923, lot 1883; John D. Gordon, sale invoice; Phyllis Goodhart Gordan, booklabel on chemise

For John Quinn see previous lot. John Gordan, a former Harvard English instructor and a Conrad expert, was appointed the first curator of the Berg Collection of English and American Literature in the New York Public Library in 1940. He remained in the post until his death in 1968. Gordan's essay "The Rajah Brooke and Joseph Conrad", published in 1938, was a landmark in Conrad scholarship and his book study, Joseph Conrad, The Making of a Novelist was published in 1940.

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."

A comparison of the serial publication of the novel with the book version reveals some significant changes. Robert Siegle in "The Two Texts of Chance" (Conradiana, 16, 1984, pp.83-101) even claims that the serial publication comprises a more modernist text. Susan Jones (see "The Three Texts of Chance", The Conradian, 21/1, 1996, pp.57-78) notes that "...in Siegle's view, some of Conrad's extensive revisions from serial to book constituted errors of judgement, particularly the removal of passages in which the narrators discuss the nature and meaning of textuality, a theme which placed the serial in a more self-reflexive cast than that of the book..."