Conrad, Joseph

responding in generous but characteristically lugubrious terms to Gissing's enthusiasm for his work, comparing Gissing to an enriched Aladdin with "the Lamp and the Treasure" who "can afford royally to fling away a priceless jewel of a word", admitting that "After forty it is easier to spurn away blame than to embrace the fair form of praise", and concluding that Gissing's praise is a Christmas gift "as no lavishness of Dickens's imagination could have contrived", 6 pages, 8vo, headed stationery of Pent Farm, near Hythe, Kent, 21 December 1902, second bifolium with integral blank crudely torn off, small nick to first bifolium

Collected Letters, II, pp.464-65

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"....There is a talking spectre, a ghostly voice whispering incessantly in one's ear of the narrow circle circumscribing all effort, of the shortness of one's vision and of the poverty of one's thought..."

One of only two known letters by Conrad to Gissing. Conrad wrote to Gissing in response to a letter Gissing had written to a mutual friend, Edward Clodd, describing Conrad as "the strongest writer - in every sense of the word - at present publishing in English". Conrad's description of Gissing as enriched with Aladdin's treasure refers to his writing but is ironic given Gissing's grinding money troubles (about which Conrad may have been ignorant), however Conrad's mordant tone is likely to have struck a chord given Gissing's chronic ill health.