Five Months in Labrador and Newfoundland, During the Summer of 1838 (Tucker's Voyage)
Concord: Israel S. Boyd and William White, 1839. First edition. Hardcover. 156pp. Sextodecimo [16 cm] Original star-patterned brown cloth over boards with a gilt stamped title on the front cover. The boards are a bit dampstained, and the spine ends and corners of the covers are bumped. The top halves of the first thirteen pages are moisture stained (text still very legible). There is a small loss from the marginal bottom fore edge corner of p. 25. The pages have minor scattered foxing. Sabin 97297. Good +. Item #50289
Due to health concerns, the author, Ephraim W. Tucker, was advised by physicians to undertake a voyage at sea. Tucker chose the fishing grounds of Newfoundland and Labrador as his destination, and this book is the result of the faithful observations he made during his five months absence. Tucker writes, "I have endeavored to present in the following pages, a faithful description of the inhabitants, both natives and whites, and of their condition as respects general character, information, and morals. It will be found to be low in the scale of civilization. It will be seen that a great field is there open for the labors of the apostles of temperance, the missionaries of the Cross, and the pioneers of education and morals. And if the humble narrative which the author now presents to the public, shall be the means of drawing attention of christians and philanthropists to a dark, cold, and benighted region of the earth, so that any substantial good may be done to the humblest individual of our race, the warmest hopes of the author, in this little volume, will be realized."
Price: $400.00