Is My Chance: A Tale in Two Parts a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Methuen & Co., London, 1914
• The text was set and its title leaf printed in 1913, but a binders' strike delayed publication to January 1914; on most copies the 1913 title leaf was cancelled and replaced by a cancel leaf dated 1914, with the stub visible on the verso
• Roughly fifty copies (about 51 per Methuen's records) retain the original 1913-dated title leaf — the earliest state
• Genuine first-issue copies carry an eight-page publisher's catalogue dated 'Autumn 1913' and are bound in green cloth lettered in gilt with 'METHUEN' at the foot of the spine (Binding A); the Conrad works list shows closing quotation marks around 'Narcissus.' TRAP: Methuen later recalled the fourth impression and tipped in fresh 1913-dated title leaves to satisfy collectors, so a 1913 title page ALONE does not prove first issue — the Autumn 1913 catalogue, the cancel stub, and the title-page type spacing are the deciding points (Supino records states A–H of the first published state)

How Methuen & Co., London marked a first edition

• Since 1905: state "First published in [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts, with later printings noted

Full Methuen & Co., London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

English Methuen edition (January 1914) is the true first; the American Doubleday, Page edition followed later in 1914 — precedence is English-first. Only the two-part English printing carries the 1913/1914 cancel-title complication.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Methuen impressions (second through fourth) exist; the fourth impression is the one into which spurious 1913 title leaves were inserted. Later printings lack the Autumn 1913 catalogue and the cancel-stub configuration. No book-club issue documented for the 1914 first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts a first edition?

A first edition of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad (Methuen & Co., London) is identified by: First edition: Methuen & Co., London, 1914.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. English Methuen edition (January 1914) is the true first; the American Doubleday, Page edition followed later in 1914 — precedence is English-first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later Methuen impressions (second through fourth) exist; the fourth impression is the one into which spurious 1913 title leaves were inserted. Later printings lack the Autumn 1913 catalogue and the cancel-stub configuration. No book-club issue documented for the 1914 first.

I have a first edition of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.