THE ROVER by Conrad, Joseph - 1923

1923. [inscribed by Conrad's wife] Garden City NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1923. Original blue cloth.

Printer's advance mock-up copy of the first trade edition. The binding is the standard one for this American edition, but inside, the contents consist of the preliminary leaves through page 4 of the text -- after which the leaves are all blank. These are typically called "salesman's dummy" copies, but these Doubleday Page books weren't being sold door-to-door, so this is more likely an advance mock-up copy the publisher had provided Conrad in order to demonstrate how the finished book would appear in its binding. The volume is in near-fine condition (slightly rubbed at the corners). The front endpaper is inscribed in 1924 by Conrad's wife (widow? -- Conrad died during 1924), "To Campbell and Hilda Tilbury Fox, | With love and affectionate | regards from | Jessie Conrad Korzeniowska | 1924." Dr. Campbell Tilbury Fox attended to both Joseph and Jessie Conrad from 1918 on, and continued to serve as Jessie's doctor after her husband's death. Most likely, it was not long after Joseph's death that Jessie gave this advance copy of her husband's most-recent novel to their doctor; it is interesting that although Jessie George had grown up an Englishwoman, here she honors her husband by using the feminine version of his original Polish last name, Korzeniowski.