Mint Editions-The Cruise of the Snark

In 1906, Jack London began work on a boat capable of sailing the Pacific. The Snark, a 45 foot yacht with two sails and a small engine, set sail in 1907, taking London, his wife, and a small crew from San Francisco to the Solomon Islands, an adventure that served as source material for his travelogue The Cruise of the Snark. The Cruise of the Snark (1911) is a work of travel literature by American writer Jack London. In 1906, after achieving early success as an author of novels and short stories, London began dreaming of the adventures of his youth. Inspired, he spent a fortune to build a 45-foot yacht complete with two sails and a 70-horsepower engine, powerful enough to carry him across the Pacific. Envisioning a seven-year journey, London and his wife Charmian set sail on the Snark with a small crew in 1907. Over the next two years, they would visit Hawaii—where London learned to surf and visited a leper colony—and the Marquesas Islands—made famous by Herman Melville’s first novel, Typee. Other stops included Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands. During the voyage, London learned the art of sailing and celestial navigation, ensuring that his travelogue—which he filled with photographs from the journey—would be authentic and instructive. In 1909, the Snark was forced to end its voyage in Guadalcanal so that London, suffering from infection, could be taken to a hospital in Sydney. To help cover costs, the Snark was sold in Australia in 1909, and the Londons returned to America via Ecuador later that year. In addition to The Cruise of the Snark, London would publish numerous essays and articles about the trip, and his wife Charmian also wrote three books of her own on the subject. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset…