[RADICAL & PROLETARIAN LITERATURE] LONDON, Charmian
The Log of the Snark. Presentation Copy, Warmly Inscribed, With Original Photograph Signed by Both Jack and Charmian London.
New York: Macmillan, 1915. First Edition. Octavo. Original blue ribbed cloth, blocked in gilt on spine and front cover; 487pp + 6pp publisher's ads. WARMLY INSCRIBED by Charmian London to "Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell," datemarked Glen Ellen, CA, February 7, 1917. Laid down inside front cover is an original silver-gelatin photograph of Jack and Charmian on their yacht in the Solomon islands (so identified in Charmian's hand), signed by both Charmian and Jack and (again in Charmian's hand) by Peggy,the dog that accompanied them on the cruise but died on deck not long after this photograph was taken. A tight, bright copy, easily Near Fine, with the large engraved bookplate of Florence and WHD Cottrell laid onto rear pastedown. By no means a common title in the first edition, especially in such bright condition; the inscription in this copy, written just a few months after Jack's death, is particularly poignant: "Dear Mr. & Mrs. Cottrell: Just to tell you I am glad you are going to read this tale of the golden adventure of Jack and myself. You will know us better, and, I hope, love us a little." / Charmian K. London / Glen Ellen, Cal., February 7, 1917." The photograph is presumably from a stock of signed souvenir photos assembled before London's death in 1916; Charmian continued to receive visits from London's fans and curious tourists at her Glen Ellen ranch well into the 1930s.
