# Is "Chance: A Tale in Two Parts" by Joseph Conrad a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad (Methuen & Co., London, 1914) is identified by: First edition: Methuen & Co., London, 1914. English Methuen edition (January 1914) is the true first; the American Doubleday, Page edition followed later in 1914 — precedence is English-first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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)
- Publisher imprint reads Methuen & Co., London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joseph Conrad |
| Publisher | Methuen & Co., London |
| Year | 1914 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition: Methuen & Co., London, 1914 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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).

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Chance: A Tale in Two Parts* by Joseph Conrad a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/chance-a-tale-in-two-parts
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.