LOT #91022 |
Sold on Oct 16, 2008 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
Joseph Conrad. The N***** of the "Narcissus." A Tale of the Sea. London: William Heinemann, 1898....
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Oct 16, 2008 for:
$836.50
Bid Source: Live: Phone bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
First English Published Edition of "The N***** of the 'Narcissus'"
Joseph Conrad. The N***** of the "Narcissus." A Tale of the Sea. London: William Heinemann, 1898.First English published edition, with the letters in "Heinemann" on the spine in small uniform caps, and with four pages of undated advertisements plus sixteen pages of advertisements dated Autumn 1897 at the end. Octavo (7.5 x 5.25 inches; 191 x 130 mm.). [8], 259, [1, blank], [4, advertisements] pages plus 15, [1] pages publisher's catalogue ("Mr. William Heinemann's Autumn Announcements mdcccxcvii").
Publisher's dark slate linen-grain cloth with front cover pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt, spine lettered in gilt, and back cover stamped in blind with the publisher's initials. Minor rubbing to extremities, endpapers slightly browned, upper corner of front free endpaper folded down and fragile, edges lightly foxed. Over-opened at gathering F (between pages 80 and 81), short (half-inch) tear to outer blank margin of H2 (pages 115/116), tiny tear to outer blank margin of L2 (pages 163/164). A very good copy.
"This sea story of 1897 can, despite its international cast of characters, safely be called Conrad's first English novel: not only is the Narcissus sailing home to England, but the novel's celebration of life at sea is simultaneously a celebration of the traditions of its creator's adopted homeland. Henry James's view is typical of the affection in which the novel is held: 'The N***** of the "Narcissus" is in my opinion the very finest & strongest picture of the sea and sea-life that our language possesses - the masterpiece in a whole class'...The story was serialized in the New Review (August-December 1897)...On 29 July 1897, a copyright edition of just seven copies of The N***** of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Forecastle was printed in Britain by Heinemann...The novel was published by Dodd, Mead in America on 20 November 1897 as The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle...[Conrad] consented to the change of title under protest, commenting in an inscribed copy of The Children of the Sea: 'The argument was that the American public would not read a book about a "n*****"' (Smith, [p.] 8). The original title was subsequently restored. British publication followed on 2 December 1897, when the novel was issued by Heinemann" (Oxford Reader's Companion to Conrad).
The N***** of the "Narcissus" was published on December 2, 1897 (post-dated 1898), in an edition of 1,500 copies.
Smith, Conrad, 3.
Auction Info
2008 October Grand Format Rare Books Auction #684 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
October, 2008
16th-18th
Thursday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,074
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms