# Is "Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories" by Joseph Conrad a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories by Joseph Conrad (William Blackwood & Sons, 1902) 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). The Blackwood 1902 Edinburgh/London printing is the true first; the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads William Blackwood & Sons

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joseph Conrad |
| Publisher | William Blackwood & Sons |
| Year | 1902 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, published 13 November 1902 — the first book appearance of "Heart of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories* by Joseph Conrad a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/youth-a-narrative-and-two-other-stories
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.