The book bears the ink inscriptions of three previous owners across the front pastedown and the rear of the frontispiece: the first states “William Galthans[?] / His Book No.23”; the second, in a bold calligraphic hand, declares “J. S. Sanders / New York USA”; and the third, more curiously, “C. E. M. – Valparaiso, Chili / 157 So 9
th St. / Brooklyn N. York / USA”. This same inscription by the somewhat mysterious third owner is repeated at numerous points throughout the book, always taking the same form (initials and Brooklyn address) with the exception of the place name, which changes each time, moving through Madeira, Canton, Rangoon, St. Thomas (Danish West Indies), Calcutta, New Orleans, Bombay, O’ahu (Hawaii), San Francisco, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, Ville Franca, Pernambuco, Hong Kong, Galveston (Texas), Magellan Straits (Chile), and Yokohama. It would seem that “C. E. M.” used the book to chart their own movements around South America, Asia, the Pacific, and the USA, turning what must have been a well-loved book into a memento of their own travels. Also pasted in are two 1890s newspaper clippings regarding Pitcairn, affixed to the pastedowns, as well as a wood-engraved illustration of the home of the first President of Pitcairn Island, Russell McCoy, affixed to the verso of one of the plates and captioned in manuscript. In addition, there is a late nineteenth-century printed hotel label for the “Hotel de Paris, Benares, India”, printed on vibrant orange paper loosely laid in. An intriguing and exceptionally well-travelled copy.
First published in 1853, Boyles’s popular account describes the voyage of the Bounty, the mutiny, Captain Bligh’s journey in an open boat, and the voyage of the Pandora, as well as much discussion of the subsequent history of Pitcairn and its inhabitants.
Fourth edition. Publisher’s original blue cloth with gilt vignette to the upper board and titles in gilt to the spine. Illustrated with 14 black and white engraved plates. An acceptable copy, the binding secure with tape repairs to the spine, a tear to the centre of the spine panel, splitting to the joints, and wear to the corners and board edges. The contents lacking the endpapers and with a twentieth-century library sticker to the front pastedown and a few occasional minor marks to page margins are otherwise in good order.
