- 333
Joseph Conrad
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Joseph Conrad
- Memorandum on the scheme for fitting out a sailing-ship for the purpose of perfecting the training of Merchant Service Officers belonging to the Port of Liverpool
- ink on paper
corrected signed typescript, about 35 corrections to all but one page, including about ten words in autograph, blue ink, 12 pages, 4to (258 x 200mm, "Original Chartham Mills Kent" watermark), 24-25 July 1920, rust mark from old paperclip on first and last page
[with:] Four letters, three autograph and one typed, by Conrad to Lawrence Durning Holt of the Ocean Steam Ship Company, the first responding with gratitude and enthusiasm to Holt's request for assistance in establishing a training sailing ship for the merchant service, explaining that "ever since I became officer of a ship ... I have tried to do my duty by the boys" and promising him "a short memoir expressing only a general view of the matter under consideration", the second letter explaining that his secretary is typing the memorandum, the third letter sent as a covering note with the typescript, likening training on a sailing ship to Classical education at public school ("...What he will actually learn on board that ship he will leave behind him directly he steps on the deck of a modern steamship. But he will have acquired the old lore of the sea which has fashioned so many generations, down to his very fathers, and in its essence will remain with the future generations of seamen even after the day when the last sail and the last oar have vanished from the waters of our globe..."), the final letter arranging a meeting, altogether 10 pages, 4to and 8vo, headed stationery of Oswalds, Bishopsbourne, Kent, 20 July to 1 August 1920, with two autograph envelopes
[also with:] two letters, one autograph and one typed, by G. Jean-Aubry to Holt, borrowing the typescript and letters and confirming that the 'Memorandum' would be included in Last Essays, 2 pages, 11 Great Marlborough St, London, 19 August-6 September 1925, with an autograph envelope
[with:] Four letters, three autograph and one typed, by Conrad to Lawrence Durning Holt of the Ocean Steam Ship Company, the first responding with gratitude and enthusiasm to Holt's request for assistance in establishing a training sailing ship for the merchant service, explaining that "ever since I became officer of a ship ... I have tried to do my duty by the boys" and promising him "a short memoir expressing only a general view of the matter under consideration", the second letter explaining that his secretary is typing the memorandum, the third letter sent as a covering note with the typescript, likening training on a sailing ship to Classical education at public school ("...What he will actually learn on board that ship he will leave behind him directly he steps on the deck of a modern steamship. But he will have acquired the old lore of the sea which has fashioned so many generations, down to his very fathers, and in its essence will remain with the future generations of seamen even after the day when the last sail and the last oar have vanished from the waters of our globe..."), the final letter arranging a meeting, altogether 10 pages, 4to and 8vo, headed stationery of Oswalds, Bishopsbourne, Kent, 20 July to 1 August 1920, with two autograph envelopes
[also with:] two letters, one autograph and one typed, by G. Jean-Aubry to Holt, borrowing the typescript and letters and confirming that the 'Memorandum' would be included in Last Essays, 2 pages, 11 Great Marlborough St, London, 19 August-6 September 1925, with an autograph envelope
Provenance
R.A. Gekoski Rare Books and Manuscripts, Catalogue 19 (1994), item 28
Literature
Moore, 120; Collected Letters, VII, pp.144-45, 148-50, 154
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, 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."
Catalogue Note
"...In this matter I have a certain competence because I was (for 3 years) chief officer of a sailing passenger ship running between London and Adelaide and I believe the very last of its kind..."
In his final years, Conrad recalls his days on the Torrens. Conrad was delighted to be asked for his views on a proposal to build a barque for cadet officer training; the idea of teaching the next generation about the dying world of sail appealed deeply to him, and he wrote with evident enthusiasm and in some detail about how such a ship should be fitted out. The "Memorandum" was included by Richard Curle in Last Essays (1926).