Jack London, 1917-1922

Jerry of the Islands. * On the Makaloa Mat. * Dutch Courage
Jack London, 1917-1922
LONDON, Jack (1876-1916). Jerry of the Islands. * On the Makaloa Mat. * Dutch Courage. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1917-1919-1922.

Three first editions in rare jackets, including the first story London wrote for publication: “Typhoon off the Coast of Japan”, written when he was 17 years old to win a $25 prize offered by the San Francisco Call. All three books are posthumously published and stories of adventure. On the Makaloa Mat contains seven short stories set in Hawaii, including some of the last stories London wrote. By contrast, Dutch Courage, compiles London’s stories spanning across his life that were not yet published in book form, variously set in the Klondike, Mexico, and Yosemite. Jerry of the Islands is told through the eyes of an Irish terrier in the South Pacific. This copy is price-clipped and has a new price, “$1.50” pasted over on jacket flap and spine panel. Sisson and Martens pp. 93ff, 101ff, and 105ff.

Together, 3 volumes. Octavo. Variously illustrated. Publishers’ advertisements. Original pictorial cloth; pictorial dust jackets. Overall excellent condition (unobtrusive ownership markings, light shelf wear, jackets price-clipped, some restoration to jacket of Jerry, upper flap of Dutch Courage trimmed on the diagonal and with a small loss from tear). Each in custom morocco-backed clamshell cases.