Notes on Joseph Conrad, With Some Unpublished Letters

Limited first edition, first printing. One of 250 copies numbered and signed by Symons, this being number 233. Publisher's light blue paper over white cloth, with a white paper label lettered in black to the front board, spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, permission slip tipped in at the front free endpaper, title label tipped in at the rear free endpaper, printed on handmade paper; light gray paper dust jacket, with front panel lettered in brown. About fine book, with just a touch of thumbsoiling and offsetting to endpapers; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and edges, very minor staining to front panel, and mild wear to spine ends and along top edge of jacket. Overall, a bright copy. Housed in a custom blue wrapper. Notes on Joseph Conrad is a reflection on the life, writings, and literary influence of the late Joseph Conrad by British poet and critic Arthur Symons. From 1895-1896, along with Aubrey Beardsley and Leonard Smithers, Symons edited the literary magazine The Savoy, for which Joseph Conrad was a notable contributor. Throughout the text, Symons references Conrad's letters to draw comparisons between his different works and to provide insight into the author's creative process. For example, Symons writes in his foreword: "Conrad's novels have no plots, and they do not need them; for, as he said: 'Invention had that mysterious, almost miraculous power of providing striking effects by means impossible of detection, which is the last word of the highest art.'" Indeed, the text reads much like a conversation between Symons' impressions of Conrad and Conrad's perceptions of himself - an eloquent homage to "one of the most original and sinister and somber personalities of our time, and one of the greatest novelists.".…