London: Methuen, 1913 [for 1914]. Second printing ("Second Edition"), colonial library issue. Red cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt. pp viii, (408) pp + 8 pp Autumn, 1913, ads + 31, (1) pp May., 1913, catalogue at rear, colonial library ads to pastedowns and both sides of front free endpapers (this title not listed). Minor wear to spine ends with a little darkening to lower half of spine imprint; yellowing and a bit of foxing to page edges; front free endpaper has small owner name and place at top and a corner from the lower fore corner (no printing lost); yellowing to endpapers, slight foxing to early leaves; covers professionally touched up and now show very well; a VG clean, tight and unworn copy. CHANCE is by far Conrad's most bibliographically complicated book and one of the most complicated modern first editions I know of. A binder's strike, plus unanticipated demand, caused a great deal of scrambling on the publisher's part as copies were designated for the colonial edition and then recalled for the domestic issue and then some were sent back for the colonial issues. The book was Conrad's first big financial success and perhaps his most elaborately structured novel.> > First publication was intended for Sept. 1913 but was put forward to Jan., 1914, for the domestic issue, though 315 copies for the Canadian issue were put on sale in early Nov.,1913, making it probably the firat published edition (about 50 copies of the domestic issue with the 1913 title date got out before publication). Methuen completed three printings by Oct. 1913, There were 500 copies for this second printing of the colonial issue which used the colonial library prelims (a further 750 copies were transferred from the domestic stock). This copy has both quotation marks around "Narcissus" on the list of titles facing the title page, indicating it was printed before the domestic second printing. Cagle A17 (6), A nice copy of a very scarce issue of a major Conrad. ; Octavo