TYPHOON

1902. Illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902. 4 pp undated ads. Original dark green cloth pictorially decorated in orange and grey.

First Edition of Conrad's first book to be illustrated -- the famous tale about Captain MacWhirr, Jukes, and the Chinamen on board the "Nan-Shan." The principal character is none of the above, but the typhoon itself. This edition of Typhoon came out in September 1902, apparently without authority -- as three months later, Conrad wrote in a letter, "The Putnams published lately a story of mine (Typhoon) in a small vol. They had not the elementary humanity to send me a (truncated) proof nor the civility to send me a copy. However I obtained one. It is set up from an uncorrected MS." [quoted by Supino]. The London edition TYPHOON AND OTHER STORIES, which included three additional stories but was unillustrated, did not appear until April 1903. Then in October 1903, McClure Phillips published the first US edition of just the three other stories, as FALK | AMY FOSTER | TO-MORROW. It would not be until 1923 -- the year before Conrad died -- that all four stories would appear together in one American volume. This is a near-fine copy (very slight soil, minor rubbing at the tips). Supino A8.1,0 (this copy); Cagle A8a. Provenance: bookplates of Christopher Clark Geest and of the Conrad bibliographer David J. Supino. (Inventory #: 15295)