Our Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii: Patten Company, Ltd, 1917. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. First printing, octavo size, 370 pp. Jack (John Griffith) London (1876-1916) remains a highly beloved author and his stories are still widely read today; beginning his career as a newspaper reporter, he gained fame with the publication of "The Call of the Wild" in July of 1903, and would eventually write over twenty novels and numerous short stories before dying tragically young from complications arising from previous illnesses, including scurvy.

This work, written by London's second wife, Charmian, recounts their time in Hawaii between 1907 and his death; before he died, he helped her edit the text. Copies with the imprint of the Patten Company, Honolulu, are extremely scarce in the marketplace; as of this writing, we see only one other copy online.

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full steel-blue ribbed cloth over boards, gilt lettering and small horizontal vignette of a beachfront at the bottom of the front board, spine with gilt lettering and another small gilt vignette, half-title page with Macmillan device on the verso, frontis photograph of "Jack London at Waikiki, 1915", title page with Patten Company, Honolulu, imprint, copyright date of 1917 with "Published December, 1917" stated, printed at the Norwood Press (Massachusetts), three-page Foreword by Charmian London dated September 1, 1917, sixteen plates bound in throughout (one a coloured map of Hawaii, the rest being reproductions of black-and-white photographs, most of the plates containing several images); octavo size (8" by 5 1/2"), pagination: [i-viii] ix-xvi [2] 1-345, [346, blank] [347-352 publisher's ads].

___CONDITION: A solid very good copy, the boards clean, the gilt on the front board bright and unrubbed, the top corners straight and unrubbed, the bottom corners gently bumped and with a modicum of rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean (although with a fair amount of foxing throughout), collated complete with all plates present, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the head and tail of the spine lightly bumped, we had a professional (name available upon request) touch up the front board and upper portion of the spine to mitigate some silverfishing, and there is evidence of removal of a leaf between the frontispiece and the title page which is a mystery, as the book collates complete.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note the following: (i) additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs, please inquire for details; and (ii) any taxes, duty, or tariffs charged by your country will, of necessity, be your responsibility.

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