Life and Adventure in the South Pacific

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1861. Hardcover. Good. Hardcover. First edition of this relatively scarce title attributed to "A Roving Printer." It describes the travels of two young men who spent five years on a whaling ship that departed from the whaling port of New Bedford, Mass. It begins with a description of fitting out a whaler for a voyage, through its launch. The book then gives a detailed description of the boats and whaling apparatus. and the spotting of the first whale.Achapter is devoted to describing the sperm whale and the difference between it and the right whale. Most of the book details the voyages and places seen. They include Talcahuana, Pitt's Island, Guam, Rota, and many more. They write extensively about their interactions with Chinese merchants and sailors. At the book's conclusion its authors say that they thank their readers and strove to tell a yarn in plain, unvarnished style, laying no claim to literary merit, seeing to lay before the public a truthful statement of what they saw.

Bound in textured green cloth with gilt titling to spine along with the image of a ship at sea. Binding is mottled and stained, with bumping to corners and cracks along the spine's top and bottom. With staining and spots to text page edges and margins with the text still quite legible. The rear free endpaper is torn in half and there is extensive staining to the publisher's statement appearing after the text and the rear pastedown. Gutters are cracked where book was opened flat. Many illlustrations throughout. With bookplate of Harold Lee Prosser II. Basically a good, readable copy of this interesting narrative of nineteenth century whaling. Measures 5 x 7.5 inches. 361 pages. MARIT/072825.