Jacob

1939 · SKU2020021831 — The Penn Publishing Company 1939. Third Printing . Very Good/Very Good. Signed by Author. A short tear and some edgewear to dustjacket. Inscribed "Inscribed for Harry Aiken with every good wish of the author of Boris Grandson of Baldy Esther Birdsall Darling". During World War II Boris the grandson of a famous Alaskan sled dog and his young owner Jack undertake a perilous trip from their home in Alaska through the ice-floes of the Bering Sea to a heroic rescue-dash into the snowy wastes of Eastern Siberia with a triumphant return to Nome. Darling is the author of several classic Alaskan books such as Baldy of Nome Navarre of the North and Boris Grandson of Baldy. An avid fan of the sled dog races in Nome Esther Birdsall Darling was also the kennel partner to the King of the Alaskan Trail Allan Alexander “Scotty” Allan. Baldy of Nome published in 1912 was kept it in print by popular demand for more than forty years. It was filled with exciting true stories such as the time during the 60-mile Solomon Derby when Scotty leaning over his sled to look at a broken runner hit his head on an iron trail marker and was knocked unconscious. Baldy stopped the team returned to his injured driver and roused him with nudges and howls and then led the team to win the race. Stories of Baldy’s descendants followed including Boris Grandson of Baldy; Navarre of the North and collections of prose and poetry about Alaska. Darling and Scotty Allan established a sled dog kennel in Nome and organized the first long distance dogsled race. Descendants of Baldy and other dogs from the Darling-Allen Kennel were purchased by the French military in World War I and transported to Europe where they worked pulling vehicles and carrying messages and cargo. In 1917 the dogs were awarded a military medal and Darling received it on their behalf. Signed copies rarely offered. The Penn Publishing Company unknown