PBA Galleries

217 pp. 18x11.5 cm. (7x4¾"), original pictorial mottled blue-gray cloth, front cover stamped in blue, light blue and black, lettered in gilt. First Edition, First Issue.

First issue with both 1897 on the title page and copyright page. Only 1000 copies of this first edition were printed. Precedes the 1898 first British edition, which was issued with the title "The Nigger of the Narcissus." According to Ehrsam, the change in the title is due to the "deference to American prejudices." However, during that time, the publisher thought the average white American book buyer would not purchase it if they thought it was a story about a black man. Conrad originally wrote this story with "Nigger" in the title, but allowed it to be change for the American edition. For all subsequent American editions and printings, the original title was restored, making this a scarce Conrad item and highly sought after by collectors. Ehrsam 2072; Smith 3; Keating 9; Cagle A3b.