Description
Signed first edition of Sailing Alone Around The World by Captain Joshua Slocum, the first person to solo circumnavigate the Earth.
Octavo, xvi, [2], 294pp. Blue cloth, title stamped in silver and green on cover. The first printing, with no later printings noted and “1900” date on title page. Top edge gilt. Light soiling to cloth, rubbing to tips, some loss of silver coloring on the spine. Solid text block, some points of wear and dog eared leaves. Complete with frontispiece portrait of “The Spray,” and 64 illustrations by Thomas Fogarty and George Varian.
Inscribed on the front free endpaper: “W.S. to W.S. 1895-1898 / Joshua Slocum / Samuel W. Skinner Jr. / July 17th 1900.”
In 1895, Captain Joshua Slocum (1844-1909) embarked on his historic journey aboard the “Spray,” a 37-foot sloop he had rebuilt himself. His meticulously planned route took him from Boston, across the Atlantic, through the Strait of Magellan, and across the Pacific, completing his voyage in 1898 and securing his place in history as the first person to sail around the world alone. Slocum’s detailed account of his voyage, Sailing Alone Around the World, stands as a testament to his navigational prowess and seafaring expertise. Slocum disappeared in 1909 en route to South America, and his vessel was never found.