Dalton, White Elephant Burma Adventure 1860 1stUS Ed.
"The White Elephant; or, The Hunters of Ava and The King of the Golden Foot", by William Dalton; illustrated with 6 plates by Harrison Weir, published by W.A. Townsend, New York, 1860. First American edition. [1st British was issued the same year]. High adventure in the jungles of Southeast Asia / Burma.
Embossed hard boards, original publisher's blue cloth with gold decorations and lettering on front cover and spine [cloth wear; especially between spine and boards: see photos]; 4.3/4" x 6.3/4"; inscription on the front endpaper; former owner's name on the first blank page; 374, 2 (ads) pages on heavy high quality paper, + frontispiece and 5 engraved plates; a little wear, a few stains and a few corner folds, good+/ very good condition.
The author of "The White Elephant," William Dalton (1821-1875) was a Victorian era British author of adventure stories for youth set in exotic locations such as China, Japan and Peru. He wrote most of his books during a seven-year period between about 1857 to 1864. He was also chief Editor of the London Daily Telegraph for some time. Dalton was the first among many authors to novelize the true story of William Adams, who was the first Englishman to reach Japan in the 17th century.
Harrison William Weir (1824-1906), British illustrator and artist is known as "The Father of the Cat Fancy": He organized the first cat show in England, at the Crystal Palace, London, in July 1871. He and his brother, John Jenner Weir, both served as judges in the show. In 1887, Harrison Weir founded the National Cat Club and was its first President and Show Manager until his resignation in 1890.
Weir was a natural history artist and provided some of the illustrations for the Rev John George Wood's "Illustrated Natural History" (1853), served as chief illustrator for Charles St John's "Wild Sports" and "Natural History of the Highlands", and designed all of the illustrations for George Fyler Townsend's "Three Hundred Aesop's Fables" (1867). He also provided illustrations for many of the books of the natural history author Sarah Bowdich Lee. Weir was enormously prolific and popular as a book illustrator and worked not just for The Illustrated London News, but for many illustrated papers, including the Pictorial Times, The Field and Pictorial World. In some cases, such as "The Poetry of Nature" (1867), he compiled the books he illustrated. He was both author and illustrator of "Every Day in the Country" (1883) and "Animal Studies, Old and New" (1885). In literary society, Weir's close friends included Douglas Jerrold, Henry Mayhew, Albert Smith, and Tom Hood the younger, and Weir knew Thackeray and other eminent literary men.
Provenance:
From the library of Jacob Bausch Eckfeldt (1846-1938). According to the inscription on the front endpaper, this book was given to him by the Sabbath School of his church on December 25, 1860, when he was fourteen years old. His own signature is on the first blank page.
The name Eckfeldt is synonymous with the first century of the United States Mint. Blacksmith John Jacob Eckfeldt (1733-1818), a native of Nuremberg, Frankish Bavaria, immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1760s and operated a machine shop. There he furnished dies to Robert Morris for the Nova Constellation coppers in 1783 and also provided the US Mint with its first screw press. His son Adam Eckfeldt (1769-1852) is believed to have created the dies for the first federal half cents of 1793, and he gained regular employment at the Philadelphia Mint two years later as an assistant to Coiner Henry Voigt. Adam Eckfeldt then succeeded Voight upon the latter's death in 1814 and held that office until his retirement in 1839. He remained a familiar presence at the mint until his own death 13 years later, volunteering his immense expertise.
The owner of this book, Jacob Bausch Eckfeldt (1846-1938), was Adam's grandson. He grew up in the family business, and went to work in the Mint under his father in 1865 at the age of 19. He served 64 years in the Mint from 1865 to 1929, 48 years of which were in the position of Chief Assayer of the U.S. Mint. The resignation of Jacob B. Eckfeldt at age 83, as Chief Assayer of the Philadelphia Mint became effective December 31,1929, thus ending the Eckfeldt family's 137 consecutive years of tenure on the U.S. Mint's payroll, and service to the U.S. Mint under 31 Presidential administrations, from George Washington in 1792 to Herbert Hoover in 1929.
Note:
Country restrictions may apply - the lesser expansive Priority shipping may not be available to all countries.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ----------- $16.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ------ $29.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ------- $40.50
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"The White Elephant; or, The Hunters of Ava and The King of the Golden Foot", by William Dalton; illustrated with 6 plates by Harrison Weir, published by W.A. Townsend, New York, 1860. First American edition. [1st British was issued the same year]. High adventure in the jungles of Southeast Asia / Burma.
Embossed hard boards, original publisher's blue cloth with gold decorations and lettering on front cover and spine [cloth wear; especially between spine and boards: see photos]; 4.3/4" x 6.3/4"; inscription on the front endpaper; former owner's name on the first blank page; 374, 2 (ads) pages on heavy high quality paper, + frontispiece and 5 engraved plates; a little wear, a few stains and a few corner folds, good+/ very good condition.
The author of "The White Elephant," William Dalton (1821-1875) was a Victorian era British author of adventure stories for youth set in exotic locations such as China, Japan and Peru. He wrote most of his books during a seven-year period between about 1857 to 1864. He was also chief Editor of the London Daily Telegraph for some time. Dalton was the first among many authors to novelize the true story of William Adams, who was the first Englishman to reach Japan in the 17th century.
Harrison William Weir (1824-1906), British illustrator and artist is known as "The Father of the Cat Fancy": He organized the first cat show in England, at the Crystal Palace, London, in July 1871. He and his brother, John Jenner Weir, both served as judges in the show. In 1887, Harrison Weir founded the National Cat Club and was its first President and Show Manager until his resignation in 1890.
Weir was a natural history artist and provided some of the illustrations for the Rev John George Wood's "Illustrated Natural History" (1853), served as chief illustrator for Charles St John's "Wild Sports" and "Natural History of the Highlands", and designed all of the illustrations for George Fyler Townsend's "Three Hundred Aesop's Fables" (1867). He also provided illustrations for many of the books of the natural history author Sarah Bowdich Lee. Weir was enormously prolific and popular as a book illustrator and worked not just for The Illustrated London News, but for many illustrated papers, including the Pictorial Times, The Field and Pictorial World. In some cases, such as "The Poetry of Nature" (1867), he compiled the books he illustrated. He was both author and illustrator of "Every Day in the Country" (1883) and "Animal Studies, Old and New" (1885). In literary society, Weir's close friends included Douglas Jerrold, Henry Mayhew, Albert Smith, and Tom Hood the younger, and Weir knew Thackeray and other eminent literary men.
Provenance:
From the library of Jacob Bausch Eckfeldt (1846-1938). According to the inscription on the front endpaper, this book was given to him by the Sabbath School of his church on December 25, 1860, when he was fourteen years old. His own signature is on the first blank page.
The name Eckfeldt is synonymous with the first century of the United States Mint. Blacksmith John Jacob Eckfeldt (1733-1818), a native of Nuremberg, Frankish Bavaria, immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1760s and operated a machine shop. There he furnished dies to Robert Morris for the Nova Constellation coppers in 1783 and also provided the US Mint with its first screw press. His son Adam Eckfeldt (1769-1852) is believed to have created the dies for the first federal half cents of 1793, and he gained regular employment at the Philadelphia Mint two years later as an assistant to Coiner Henry Voigt. Adam Eckfeldt then succeeded Voight upon the latter's death in 1814 and held that office until his retirement in 1839. He remained a familiar presence at the mint until his own death 13 years later, volunteering his immense expertise.
The owner of this book, Jacob Bausch Eckfeldt (1846-1938), was Adam's grandson. He grew up in the family business, and went to work in the Mint under his father in 1865 at the age of 19. He served 64 years in the Mint from 1865 to 1929, 48 years of which were in the position of Chief Assayer of the U.S. Mint. The resignation of Jacob B. Eckfeldt at age 83, as Chief Assayer of the Philadelphia Mint became effective December 31,1929, thus ending the Eckfeldt family's 137 consecutive years of tenure on the U.S. Mint's payroll, and service to the U.S. Mint under 31 Presidential administrations, from George Washington in 1792 to Herbert Hoover in 1929.
Note:
Country restrictions may apply - the lesser expansive Priority shipping may not be available to all countries.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ----------- $16.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ------ $29.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ------- $40.50
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
