Joseph Conrad — The Heart of Darkness, first appearance in print. Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 165 (January – June 1899). Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons. One bound volume.

The complete first printing of Conrad's novella, under its original title (with the definite article, dropped when it was collected in Youth: A Narrative, and Two Other Stories in 1902). The story appeared in three parts in the February, March, and April 1899 numbers, all contained in this volume. The February number was the magazine's 1,000th issue, a milestone for Britain's oldest literary monthly, which makes this the landmark issue of the run in more than one sense.

The volume also contains John Buchan's early story "No-Man's Land," along with verse by Andrew Lang and fiction by Maurice Hewlett.

Binding: Contemporary Scottish trade half-leather over cloth boards, with the binder's ticket of James H. Jackson, Manufacturing Stationer, Perth, on the front pastedown.

Condition: Very good. Text block clean, bright, and tight, with minimal signs of use; the paper shows none of the browning or brittleness common in periodicals of this date. The front hinge is cracked, but otherwise the binding is sound with only light shelf wear. Page 171/172 is folded over, an apparent binder error, since, when unfolded, it is wider that the other pages.

Ex-university library, recently deaccessioned, with markings limited to: a small volume number in white on the spine, a single call-number label at the foot of the spine, and a brief pencil annotation on the title page. No stamps, bookplates, pockets, or perforations. The volume clearly saw little circulation, which accounts for its unusually fresh interior.

Photographs show the binding, the binder's ticket, the library markings, and the opening page of each of the three installments.   $1,500, offers will be considered.

A companion group, Vols. 166–168, containing the complete serialization of "Lord Jim," are offered separately; a combined price is available for a buyer taking both.

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