Is My Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English edition, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, published 13 November 1902 — the first book appearance of "Heart of Darkness," collected here with "Youth" and "The End of the Tether" (all three had appeared earlier in Blackwood's Magazine)
• The title page carries the 1902 Blackwood imprint; there is no printing statement or number line, so state is read from the rear matter
• Collation is [viii], 375, [1] pp., followed by a 32-page publisher's catalogue bound in at the rear
• The priority point is that catalogue: the first state is dated 10/02 on its last printed page, and copies carrying a catalogue dated 11/02 are a later state of the same first edition
• Binding is green cloth with black floral decoration and black titling to the front board, and black floral decoration with gilt lettering to the spine; the spine commonly shows fading
• Measurements of about 196 x 138 mm are recorded

How William Blackwood & Sons marked a first edition

• No explicit edition statement on Victorian firsts: identify by title-page date, absence of 'New Edition' wording, correct imprint ('William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London'), and complete volumes with half-title…
• Many Blackwood novels first appeared serially in Blackwood's Magazine before book form — confirm the first BOOK edition versus the serial and versus cheaper later reissues.

Full William Blackwood & Sons 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

The Blackwood 1902 Edinburgh/London printing is the true first; the census claim is confirmed. The first American edition is McClure, Phillips & Co., New York, 1903 (Cagle A7b; Keating 38), 381 pp. plus a blank leaf, in blindstamped green cloth with gilt to the spine and upper board — a separate and textually inferior setting, since McClure set from uncorrected English proofs and Conrad's final corrections are therefore absent. McClure also failed to complete copyright before publication, which let "Youth" be pirated by Outlook and "Heart of Darkness" reprinted in The Living Age. Both editions are collected; the English is the first, the American is the first American only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1902 Blackwood. The chief traps are "first thus" reprints: later Doubleday and Dent collected-edition volumes, and any stand-alone printing of Heart of Darkness, are not the first book appearance — that occurs only within this 1902 collection. A rear catalogue dated later than 11/02, or the absence of the catalogue entirely, indicates a later state or a rebound copy rather than the first state.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories by Joseph Conrad (William Blackwood & Sons) is identified by: First English edition, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, published 13 November 1902 — the first book appearance of "Heart of Darkness," collected here with "Youth" and "The End of the Tether" (all three had appeared earlier in Blackwood's Magazine).

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The Blackwood 1902 Edinburgh/London printing is the true first; the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1902 Blackwood. The chief traps are "first thus" reprints: later Doubleday and Dent collected-edition volumes, and any stand-alone printing of Heart of Darkness, are not the first book appearance — that occurs only within this 1902 collection. A rear catalogue dated later than 11/02, or the absence of the catalogue entirely, indicates a later state or a rebound copy rather than the first state.

I have a first edition of Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories — 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.