 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
First English Edition, first impression. (With typo p. 233, line 11). Hard cover, 12mo in green vertically woven cloth with a blind stamped rule around the top board centering a rectangular floral blind stamped Dent logo. Titles blocked in gold to spine inside an architectural frame and reading J M DENT & SONS Ld at foot, with the "d" within the arms of the "L". Top edge stained olive green, all edges trimmed. A ruled box opposite the t.p. with "By the Same Author," listing the third edition of "Twixt Land and Sea," for sale at 6s. Reddish-orange and black printed title page. No copyright info. verso t.p. (as expected.) Printed at The Temple Press, Letchworth, England.**COLLATION: signed, [i-viii] [1 half title],[1],[3],4-280 pp.**CONDITION: Very Good Plus. Lacking dust jacket. Slight lean. Light bubble to front board. Minute rubbing at head and foot of spine and at tips. Front hinge in order, rear hinge slightly cracked. Otherwise, quite clean, only mildly age toned, with a tight binding, and no inscriptions. **The volume contains four of Conrad's lesser-known short stories. These include: "THE PLANTER OF MALATA," (first serialized in the American Metropolitan Magazine, June-July 1914) and described on the English first edition jacket thus: as "a thrilling romance of a planter in the little island of Malata, in the South Seas, which Keating says is "some imagined islet off New Guinea." (p. 242). The story begins in Australia. A planter, Renouard, is developing an artificial silk alternative in the story, apparently a colonial enterprise based on a real-life investment bubble. A story of unrequited love, ending badly. "THE PARTNER," (appearing in Harper's Magazine Nov. 1911) is described as "a story of a shipwreck and a rogue." "THE INN OF TWO WITCHES" (seen in Pall Mall Magazine, March 1913) is called "a tale of the adventures of an officer and a sailor, on board a sloop-of-war, at an inn in the North of Spain." Finally, the story "BECAUSE OF THE DOLLARS" (appeared as "Laughing Anne" in Metropolitan Magazine, Sept. 1914) "relates the terrible experience of the captain of a steamer in the Malay Archipelago. REFS: Keating, A Conrad Memorial Library (1929) 108, edition only. Lohf and Sheehy 177. Supino A.18.1.0.
Ref: CONRD 9225
$145.00