THE INHERITORS. An Extravagant Story

1901. ["Early Copy for Review"] London: William Heinemann, 1901. 32 pp undated ads. Original yellow cloth decorated in black.

First English Edition, first issue, first binding state. The UK edition was issued a month after the American one, and consisted of 1,500 copies in two issues and three bindings. This was Conrad's only science fiction title, involving people from The Fourth Dimension -- though the work is largely Hueffer's. This copy is first issue, withOUT the dedication leaf ("To Borys & Christina"): according to Cagle "it would appear that the [dedication] leaf was inserted into only a few copies"; one would presume that these were likely the last copies to be bound up. This copy is in the primary binding (with the pictorial cover panel and with "W H" bracketing the windmill on the spine) -- and it is the first state of that first binding, i.e. with an ad catalogue and with the top edge trimmed, the other edges rough-trimmed. It is a very good-to-near-fine copy (minor soil and wear including a faint pattern on the rear cover, rear endpaper cracked). Supino A6.6.0 (this copy); Cagle A6a.3. At the top of the title page is blind-stamped "PRESENTATION COPY," and tipped in is a slip stating, "Early Copy for Review | With Mr. Heinemann's Compliments | Price 6/- | The Publisher particularly requests that no reference to this work be made before June 26th [price and date handwritten in ink]...". Provenance: discreet bookplate of the Conrad bibliographer David J.Supino.