DESIRABLE LIMITED EDITION OF JACOB FAITHFUL, ONE OF ONLY 750 COPIES WITH 12 COLOR PLATES BY R.W. RUSS, HANDSOMELY BOUND IN FULL MOROCCO-GILT

MARRYAT, Frederick. Jacob Faithful. London: Constable, 1928. Two volumes. Octavo, full contemporary blue levant morocco, elaborately gilt-tooled spines, boards and dentelles, blue silk endpapers, top edges gilt. $500.

Limited edition, one of 750 copies, of this acclaimed novel about a 19th-century Thames waterman, with 12 color plates by R.W. Russ and introductory essay by George Saintsbury, handsomely bound in full morocco-gilt.

"Jacob Faithful; or, The Adventures of a Waterman, a novel, by Captain Marryat (1834), describes the career of a young man who is born on a Thames 'lighter,' [who] up to the age of 11 has never set foot on land. The 'lighter' is manned by his father, his mother, and himself. His father is a round-bellied, phlegmatic little man, addicted to his pipe, and indulging in but few words: three apothegms, 'It’s no use crying; what’s done can’t be helped'; 'Take it coolly'; 'Better luck next time,' serving him on every occasion. These Jacob inherits, and makes frequent use of in after life. His mother indulges in strong drink, and comes to a terrible end. One of his first acts on beginning a life on shore is to sell his mother’s asses for twenty pounds—the earliest bargain he ever made. After spending several years at school, where his adventures are interesting, and some of them laughable, he is bound apprentice, at the age of 14, to a waterman. Now fairly launched in life, his real adventures begin. Some of the curious experiences that may befall a waterman form the staple of the book. It is written in a lively style, and is thought to be one of Marryat’s best books" (Keller, Library of the World's Best Literature). The first edition was published in 1834.

A lovely set in very good condition.