Description
First American edition of Ned Myers or Life Before the Mast by James Fenimore Cooper.
Small octavo, vii, 232pp. Three-quarter red morocco with marbled paper over boards. Title in gilt on spine in gilt compartment. Solid text block, light rubbing to edges. Faint toning from morocco along endpapers. (BAL 3908) A near fine copy of one of Cooper’s more scarce works.
This piece is a biography of one of Cooper’s fellow shipmates who served aboard the Stirling [Sterling] from 1806-1807. In addition to their shared time, the biography recounts Myer’s experience as a member of the Scourge on Lake Ontario in 1813. The ship capsized during a storm in August 1813, and Myers was one of 16 men who survived out of a 50-man crew.
