Fiction (19th Century) from Sumner & Stillman

1898. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898. Original tan cloth decorated in brown. First Edition of Conrad's fourth book and his first collection of short stories (including "An Outpost of Progress," a Congo tale along the same vein as his later "Heart of Darkness"). This was issued about ten days before the London edition, and consisted of 1,250… Read more about this item

1895. New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895. 3 pp undated ads. Original black cloth. First American Edition of Conrad's first book, with a text that varies considerably from the English edition (because it was typeset from uncorrected proofs). We find the American edition to be somewhat scarcer than the English one (as well it should be, since only… Read more about this item

1896. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896. 10 pp undated ads. Original green cloth decorated in red and black. First American Edition of Conrad's second book, issued as #198 in Appleton's "Town and Country Library." Books in the "Town and Country Library" were issued in three formats: this standard one in cloth (priced at $1.00), one for… Read more about this item

1896. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1896. 1 page preliminary undated ads. Original dark green cloth. First Edition of Conrad's second book, preceded only by (and containing many of the same characters as) ALMAYER'S FOLLY. After Edward Garnett (then a reader at Unwin's) had "discovered" Conrad and had published his first book, he worked very closely with Conrad on… Read more about this item

1898. London: William Heinemann, 1898. 4 pp undated ads plus 16 pp ads dated Autumn 1897. Original dark grey cloth with life preserver in gilt. First English Edition of Conrad's third novel (the slightly earlier American edition was titled THE CHILDREN OF THE SEA). This tale was the novel which he saw as a turning point in his… Read more about this item

1895. [advance review copy] New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895. 3 pp undated ads. Original very dark blue cloth. First American Edition of Conrad's first book, with a text that varies considerably from the English edition (because it was typeset from uncorrected proofs). We find the American edition to be scarcer than the English one (as well it… Read more about this item

1897. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1897. Original pictorial light blue-grey mottled cloth. First Edition, first issue, of the tale subsequently published as THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS." Conrad wrote this story with the "Nigger" title, but consented to change the title for the American edition (which preceded the English); "Dodd, Mead thought the English title might… Read more about this item

1898. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1898. Original pictorial light blue-grey mottled cloth. First Edition, second issue, of the tale subsequently published as THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS." Conrad wrote this story with the "Nigger" title, but consented to change the title for the American edition (which preceded the English); "Dodd, Mead thought the English title might… Read more about this item

1895. New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895. 3 pp undated ads. Original black cloth. First American Edition of Conrad's first book, with a text that varies considerably from the English edition (because it was typeset from uncorrected proofs). We find the American edition to be somewhat scarcer than the English one (as well it should be, since only… Read more about this item

1895. New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895. 3 pp undated ads. Original very dark blue cloth. First American Edition of Conrad's first book, with a text that varies considerably from the English edition (because it was typeset from uncorrected proofs). We find the American edition to be scarcer than the English one (as well it should be, since… Read more about this item

1895. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. Original dark olive-green cloth. First Edition of Joseph Conrad's first book, an edition believed to have consisted of 1000-1250 copies. Conrad, after meeting the real "Olmeijer" in East Borneo in 1887, gradually produced the manuscript of this book over the six years 1889-1895. He submitted it to Unwin for consideration in their… Read more about this item

1898. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1898. 14 pp undated ads. Original dark green cloth. First English Edition of Conrad's fourth book -- his first collection of short stories (including "An Outpost of Progress," a Congo tale anticipating his later "Heart of Darkness"). The American edition by Scribner's is believed to have come out about ten days earlier. For… Read more about this item

1896. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896. Original marbled boards with half maroon roan gilt, spine decorated in gilt. First American Edition of Conrad's second book, issued as #198 in Appleton's "Town and Country Library." "Because it was to be included in the family-oriented Town and Country Library, this edition was severely bowdlerized, by eliminating all scenes… Read more about this item

1898. London: William Heinemann, 1898. 4 pp undated ads plus 16 pp ads dated Autumn 1897. Original dark grey cloth with life preserver in gilt. First English Edition of Conrad's third novel (the slightly earlier American edition was titled THE CHILDREN OF THE SEA); 1,519 copies were printed, and the actual date of publication was in late 1897.… Read more about this item

1897. With Illustrations by I.W. Taber. London: Macmillan and Co., 1897. 2 pp undated ads. Original blue cloth pictorially decorated in gilt, all page edges gilt. First English Edition, published about a month after the American. This is Kipling's great novel about the cod fishing fleet of Gloucester Massachusetts, written while the newlywed Kiplings lived in Vermont. Kipling… Read more about this item

1889. [a fine, bright copy] As made to his Three Grandchildren Joseph, Gervas, & Reuben during the Hard Winter of 1734... London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889. 2 pp undated ads + 16 pp ads dated January 1889. Original very dark blue cloth, beveled edges. First Edition, consisting of only 1000 copies. This historical novel was Doyle's third… Read more about this item

1892. New York: Cassell Publishing Company, [1892]. Original light grey cloth stamped in black, with a facsimile scrap of newspaper (touting this project) affixed to the front cover. First American Edition, published six months after the London edition, of this collaborative novel written by 24 noted authors of the day -- including (in addition to Doyle) Bram Stoker,… Read more about this item

1849. A Fancy for Christmas-Time. New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d. [1849]. 2 pp undated ads. Original brown printed wrappers. First American Edition of Dickens's fifth and last Christmas book; there had been no late-1847 Christmas book, as Dickens had then been busy with DOMBEY AND SON. Though undated, this Harper edition in wrappers came out on January… Read more about this item

1854. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1854. Original blind-stamped olive-green cloth. First Edition of Dickens's novel sited in the grimy manufacturing city of Coketown; it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. School superintendent Thomas Gradgrind tries hard to repress the children's imagination in favor of Facts: "Now what I want is Facts. Teach these… Read more about this item

1876. Hartford [etc.]: The American Publishing Company, 1876. 4 pp ads dated 1 Dec 1876. Original blue cloth decorated in black and gilt. First American Edition, second state (i.e. with the frontispiece on the verso of the half-title, rather than on a separate adjacent leaf). Because such copies appear on laid paper, on wove paper, or on a… Read more about this item