Pacifique

small 8vo [17.5 x 12 cm]; xiii, 321 pp, map frontispiece, text illus. contemporary half calf, raised bands, decorated in gilt and blind, red title labels with gilt lettering, marbled boards, rubbed at edges, a very good copy, clean throughout. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. BAL 13655, with the 'P' at p. 209, as signature mark, showing top half only, no priority of states. The London edition preceeded the US edition by several weeks. Hill 196: "This work deals with Melville and his part in the mutiny aboard the Julia, called in this book, Lucy Ann. Melville then spent about three months wandering in various parts of Tahiti and Imeeo (Moorea) as a beachcomber and was able to make extensive observations on the social conditions of the natives. This work is also a true story." The author has been described as "the most important of all the great American writers" and later wrote Moby Dick. This is the author's second book.