We offer a group of ten Joseph Conrad "firsts" from the collection formed by Claude Smith in the middle decades of the last century. Claude, who came to sign only his first name, started as an animator with Walt Disney and went on to fame as a cartoonist, published in the New Yorker, Playboy and Fortune, among others. He was an astute and discriminating collector who invariably acquired copies in excellent original condition.

Joseph Conrad’s works mark the transition from the realist literary tradition to the newly developing modernist schools. Conrad’s stylistic originality and the powerful themes of his best works have made him an influential writer into the present day.

We will provide detailed descriptions and photographs upon request.

This collection of ten first editions includes:

The Point of Honor
New York: The McClure Company, 1908.

First edition, second issue binding. Octavo (pages 19.1 x 12.9 cm), all edges trimmed. Four color plates by Dan Sayre Groesbeck. Original green cloth, slight edgewear on spine, lacking dust jacket. Very good, the gilt lettering and cover decoration quite bright. Collates [1 l.], 3 ll., 182 pp., [1 l.], plus 4 ll. ill. References: Cagle A13.c.b.; cf. Wise Bibliography 18, p. 42; Erhsam p. 296. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

First serialized in the UK in Pall Mall Magazine in early 1908 and in the US periodical Forum later that year.

Some Reminiscences
London: Eveleigh Nash, 1912.

First edition, first issue. Octavo (pages 19.8 x 13.4 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Original blue cloth, very slight spine and corner edgewear, lacking dust jacket. The gilt quite bright, offsetting on endpapers, overall very good. Collates [1 l.], pp. 3-237 + 1, 1 l. ads, [1 l.]. References: Cagle A15.b.(1); Wise, Bibliography 20; Ehrsam p. 310. Claude's gilt bookplate on front pastedown.

Conrad's tale of how he came to writing after a life at sea.

Twixt Land and Sea
London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1912.

First edition, second binding. Octavo (pages 18.5 x 12.7 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Original green cloth, spine slightly cocked, slight cover staining, lacking dust jacket. Offsetting on endpapers, negligible scattered foxing, overall very good. Collates [1 l.], 3 ll., 264 pp., [1 l.]. References: Cagle A16a.(1)c.; Wise, Bibliography 21; Ehrsam p. 317. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

A collection of three stories, including the great The Secret Sharer.

Within the Tides
London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1915.

First edition, first prining. Octavo (pages 18.5 x 12.5 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Original green cloth, almost imperceptible spine fading (but the gilt lettering strong), edgewear, lacking dust jacket. Offsetting on endpapers, overall very good. Collates [1 l.], 4 ll., 280 pp., [1 l.]. References: Cagle A18a.(1); Wise, Bibliography 23; Ehrsam p. 323. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

This 1915 volume contains the four short pieces "The Planter of Malata," "The Partner," "The Inn of the Two Witches," and "Because of the Dollars."

Victory
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1915.

First English edition, first printing, without comma before "W.C." in publisher's address. Octavo (pages 19.2 x 12.7 cm), bottom edge uncut, others trimmed. Original red cloth, spine and gilt lettering very slightly faded, two tiny stains, lacking dust jacket. Very good. Collates [1 l.], viii + 415 + 1 pp., 2 ll. (Autumn, 1915) + 16 ll. (8/15/15) ads, [1 l.]. References: Cagle A19.b.(1); Wise, Bibliography 25; Ehrsam p. 321. Claude's gilt bookplate on front pastedown.

"I am glad that I am alive, if, for no other reason, because of the joy of reading this book." --Jack London, in a 1915 letter to Conrad

The Arrow of Gold.
London: T.Fisher Unwin, Ltd, 1919.

First English edition, domestic issue. Octavo (pages 19.7 x 12.9 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Original green cloth, slight edgewear and staining on covers, lacking dust jacket. Very good, the gilt lettering strong. Collates [2 ll.], x, 336 pp., [1 l.]. References: Cagle A38.b.(1)(c.); Wise, Bibliography 41; Ehrsam p. 261. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

Critically acclaimed when it first appeared in 1919 and still considered to be among the best of Conrad's later works.

The Rescue
Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1920.

First edition, second printing. Sextodecimo (pages 18.9 x 12.6 cm), all edges trimmed. Original blue cloth, almost imperceptible edgewear, the gilt decoration and lettering quite bright and strong, original dust jacket with price "Net $2.00", small reverse-taped chips and tears. Clipped ca. 15 mm at each corner. Very good. Collates [2 ll.], 4 ll., 404 pp., 1 l., [2 ll.]. References: Cagle A49.a.(2); Wise, Bibliography 55; Ehrsam p. 299. Claude's white bookplate on front pastedown.

One of the final novels published before Conrad's death in 1924.

The Nature of a Crime (with Ford Madox Hueffer)
London: Duckworth & Co., 1924.

First edition. Small octavo (pages 18.5 x 12.4 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Original rose cloth, spine and gilt lettering slightly faded, original dust jacket, spine and adjacent part of front cover darkened and lightly chipped. Offsetting on endpapers, very good overall. Collates [1 l.], 119 + [1] pp., [1 l.]. References: Harvey A57a; cf. Keating 185; Ehrsam p. 328. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

A novel written in collaboration with the author also known as Ford Madox Ford.

Suspense
London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1925.

First English edition. Octavo (pages 18.9 x 12.7 cm), all edges trimmed, top edges stained. Frontispiece illustration after Muirhead Bone. Original maroon cloth, almost imperceptible spine edgewear (but the gilt lettering strong), original dust jacket, small reverse-taped chips and tears. Offsetting on endpapers, slight foxing front edge, overall very good. Collates [2 ll.], x + 303 + 1 pp., 2 ll. ads, [1 l.], plus 1 l. ill. References: Wise, Library p. 53; cf. Keating 190; Ehrsam p. 311. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

This unfinished novel was published posthumously in 1925.

Last Essays
Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1926.

First American edition. Small octavo (pages 18.7 x 12.7 cm). Original blue cloth, spine imperceptibly faded, spine lettering worn, lacking dust jacket. Very good. Collates [2 ll.], xvi pp., 1 l., 171 + [1] pp., [2 ll.], plus 1 l. ill. References: Wise, Library p. 55; cf. Keating 202; Ehrsam p. 277. Claude's pencil signature on front pastedown.

The volume includes nineteen shorter pieces, mainly written for various newspapers and magazines after 1921.

Price Upon Request
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