THE RESCUE. A Romance of the Shallows. [inscribed by Conrad] by Conrad, Joseph - 1920

1920. [inscribed by Conrad] Garden City NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1920. Original dark blue-green limp leather.

First Edition, third impression. The first impression is gathered in 8s and bound in the usual navy blue cloth decorated in gilt; the second is gathered in 16s but is otherwise the same; this third and last 1920 printing (and the final printing from these plates) is also gathered in 16s, but is on thinner paper and is bound in the limp-leather "Deep Sea" binding. This copy is in very good condition, with some almost-unavoidable minor wear at the extremities. Supino A22.3.0 (this copy); Cagle A49a(3). Housed in a morocco-backed slipcase with inner chemise. Provenance (see below): SJS bookplate of the Conrad mega-collector Stanley J. Seeger (both on the endpaper verso and on the slipcase chemise) -- this book was lot 143 in his Part I sale in July 2013; discreet bookplate of the Conrad bibliographer David J. Supino. This is a presentation copy inscribed by Conrad on the (illustrated) front free endpaper, "to | Ralph Pinker | from his friend | Joseph Conrad | 1920 [flourish]". James Randolph "Ralph" Pinker (1900-1959) was the younger son of Conrad's long-time (since 1899) literary agent James B. Pinker (1863-1922). After JB's death two years after this book was published, his elder son Eric took over the literary agency and was Conrad's agent for the last two years of the latter's life. In 1926 Eric would set up a New York office, leaving Ralph to manage the London office. But it all ended unhappily: in 1939 Eric admitted to embezzlement, and served time in New York's Sing Sing prison -- at which time the firm was liquidated; Ralph admitted to malpractice and misappropriation of funds, and served time in London's Wormwood Scrubs prison.