Sailing Alone Around the World.: Illustrated by Thomas Fogarty and George Varian.

New York: The Century Co.,, 1900. The days passed happily with me wherever my ship sailed First edition, first printing, of this superb narrative of the first single-handed circumnavigation of the globe. Slocum set out in a small 37-foot sloop, designed for coastal sailing, not ocean crossing. Toy describes Slocum's book as "the classic account of a small boat voyage, which has been compared favourably to Thoreau's Walden. Slocum perceived his world in a poetic manner and described his vision of reality with grace... After rebuilding Spray, an ancient wreck of a boat given him by a fellow sea captain, Slocum sailed from Boston westward around the world via the Straits of Magellan and the Cape of Good Hope on an eventful voyage which lasted from 1895 to 1898". Provenance: this is a familial copy, with the signature of Andrew Brown Sharpe (1883-1966), on the front free endpaper, dated June 18, 1901. It is also signed by his nephew Harry Sharpe Weiss (1908-1970), dated June 15, 1921. Octavo. Original blue cloth, titles and decoration on spine and front cover in silver and green, top edge gilt, others uncut. Half-tone frontispiece, illustrations in text (some full-page). "A.M." in ink on front cover. Spine slightly toned with ends frayed, minor mottling of covers, endpapers with old stains, text lightly browned: a very good copy. Morris & Howland, p. 126 * (asterisked titles judged to be essential reading and worthy of special mention); Toy 462. Ann Spencer, Alone At Sea: The Adventures of Joshua Slocum, 1998.