Conrad, Joseph

i) top copy typescript, blue ink, comprising seven portions of text from the last part of the novel (the pages numbered 272-283, plus two additional non-sequential leaves originally numbered 204-205 but corrected in black ink to 276-277, 300-302 bis, 307, 309-310, 312 (twice)-315, plus an additional non-sequential leaf originally numbered 323 but corrected in black ink to 313), with authorial revisions to eight pages including three pages almost entirely rewritten, further corrections in pencil to six pages in an editorial hand including a sketch map of a harbour on the verso of p.275, “Part IV. Ch. I first part” and “Cancelled” written in pencil on the head of the first page, “Cancelled” additionally written on the head of p.300, altogether 27 leaves, quarto (258 x 205mm, “Original Chartham Mills Kent” watermark), 1923

ii) carbon copy typescript of the final completed pages of the novel, pages numbered 331-341 corrected in ink to 321-331, “Carbon copy 1^st Draft” and “Cancelled” written in pencil on the head of the first page, which is also crossed through in blue crayon, “End Part Three" (later altered to "Four" in pencil) written in blue crayon at the foot of the last page, later pencil note on p.321 recording that it corresponds to p.266 of the printed text, 11 pages, quarto (258 x 205mm, “Original Chartham Mills Kent” watermark), 1923



iii) carbon copy typescript of the final completed portion of the novel ("Part IV, chap. I") with the original chapter number [Part III, Chapter] "III" cancelled in pencil, numbered 259-316, 58 pages, folio (280 x 215mm), 1923-24



all three typescripts housed loose in a green cloth chemise and black morocco backed slipcase

Thomas J. Wise; Richard Curle; his sale, American Art Association, 28 April 1927, lot 16, $170, to "Drake"; American Art Association, 14 April 1937, lot 60, $30; Halstead B. Vander Poel; sale of his library, Christie's, London, 3 March 2004, lot 275

Moore, 284; Suspense, ed. G.M. Moore (Cambridge, 2011)

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."

"...Conrad's final work brings together materials from many periods of his life: his childhood reading of Captain Marryat, his apprenticeship in Marseilles and along the coast, his Mediterranean holidays and his lifelong study of Napoleonic memoirs. In Suspense, these sources are interwoven into a panoramic vision of a postwar world in turmoil, a dark world of spies and survivors where nothing much happens, no one is quite what he seems, and the only available form of dénouement is escape..." (Moore, Introduction to Suspense, p.xliv)

Early working typescripts for the final section of Suspense, including - item (i)  - unique early drafts. Items (i) and (ii), which are on the "Chartham Mills" paper stock that Conrad used in his final years, are closely related to the "first draft" typescript of the novel that is now among the Ashley Manuscripts at the British Library. Item (i) predates the "first draft" and comprises cancelled passages that were later rewritten by Conrad; the Ashley typescript, although complete (except for the final chapter of Part III, which Conrad was working on at the time of his death) is irregularly foliated, and in some cases the number sequences in item (i) correspond to gaps in the foliation in the Ashley typescript. For example, Ashley goes from fol. 271 straight to fol. 286, and the first sequence in the current typescript are numbered 272-283.

The other two typescript fragments are of lesser textual significance. Item (ii) is a carbon copy of the Ashley Library uncorrected "first draft" typescript (as is shown by its identical foliation). Item (iii) is a carbon copy of the final typescript produced by Pinker, Conrad's agent, another copy of which - with Conrad's corrections -   is now in the Berg collection at the New York Public Library.

Conrad sold the manuscript of Suspense to Thomas J. Wise for £100 in 1921, when the novel was far from completion, and batches of typescript were delivered to Wise during the composition process. These three fragmentary typescripts were amongst the typescripts sold to Wise, but they were not used when he compiled the "first draft" typescript and were instead sold, along with other fragments, to Richard Curle. All of these fragments, most of which were pages from Part III of the novel, were sold in Curle's 1927 sale, and this is the only portion of the manuscript that remains in private hands.