A Special Find For Specials Collection At Annual Book Sale

By Nancy K. Crevier

It took him a while, but last month Friends of the C.H. Booth Library volunteer and local rare books expert John Renjilian deciphered and read the entire remarkable handwritten whaling journal donated to the annual book sale. The event, a major fundraiser for the town’s library, returns to Reed Intermediate School July 9–13.

The worn diary arrived in a dusty box “that might have been overlooked by a less discerning team of book sorters,” said Toni Earnshaw, one of the sale’s organizers. Realizing that there was value to the journal, it was passed along to Mr Renjilian for assessment.

The journal was kept by Second Mate William E. Percival of Sandwich, Mass., and is the tale of a Pacific Ocean voyage in the whaleship Samuel Wright, out of Salem, Mass., from 1833 to 1836, and of a second voyage from August 1839 to June 1840 aboard the Congress. Both journeys were under the command of Captain John Pitman, “a whaler of longstanding,” according to Mr Renjilian’s research.

“Ship’s logs, as a generic term, are not terribly rare,” said Mr Renjilian, but a whaling journal is fairly rare, and of a different class of desirability than a ship’s log. “Then, within whaling journals, there are different classes,” he said. A whaling journal might include drawings, for instance. Mr Percival’s journal does not, but it does contain a whaling stamp, which increases the journal’s desirability to collectors.

A whaling stamp is a small stamp carved from wood and then inked. It is often used in whaling journals to designate each time a whale is killed, or in this case, to designate the first kill of the trip.

The voyage aboard the Samuel Wright lasted 39 months. “He did not make an entry for every day, but he did cover the entire voyage of 39 months,” noted Mr Renjilian in an e-mail to The Bee.

A Literary Connection

“Directly under Pitman was the first mate, Thomas Nickerson, born on Nantucket, [who] also had a long career as a whaler and merchant mariner,” said Mr Renjilian

It is this connection that will pique the interest of collectors, he said. Mr Nickerson’s whaling career began at the age of 14 “when he shipped out on board the ill-fated whaler Essex. In 1820, the Essex was rammed by a giant white whale, and sunk, providing the inspiration for Herman Melville’s classic story of Moby Dick,” said Mr Renjilian.

The young man was fortunate to be placed in a boat that was rescued after 90 days at sea.

According to Mr Percival’s entries, the voyage of the Samuel Wright was relatively successful, with the ship carrying 2,000 barrels of oil upon its return.

The entries, written longhand in short paragraphs, also tell of the travails of the Samuel Wright’s crew.

“Rounding Cape Horn was always difficult,” Mr Renjilian said, and in this case, the ship lost rigging and a whaleboat. Storms at sea damaged the ship, and required sailors to climb the masts and tie down the sails in the midst of raging storms. Nonetheless, Mr Renjilian said, “while Percival’s penmanship leaves something to be desired, he seems to mention that only one hand was lost, a young boy who fell overboard.”

Sightings of whales, failed and successful forays to kill the whales, encounters with other ships, shore leave (“[they] will have a high time,” Mr Percival wrote), and even the dull moments and homesickness on the drawn-out voyage were all recorded by Mr Percival.

Three years later, Mr Percival picked up his pen and the journal, and recorded his time aboard the Congress. The journal entries for this voyage differ from those of the earlier part of the journal, Mr Renjilian said.

“One of the most notable differences … is the frequency of sighting, speaking, and even sailing in company with other ships.” In this account, Mr Percival also provides the reader with more information on the process of capturing whales. The entries tend to be more abbreviated and businesslike in the recording of the Congress’s trip.

A Brush With Melville

As with most of the books that come across his desk, the journal required a good deal of online research, Mr Renjilian said. It was during this research that he read in Herman Melville’s Whaling Years, by authors Wilson Heflin, Mary Edwards, and Thomas Hefner, that the Congress had its own brush with Herman Melville.

“A whaling boat put off from the Congress was lost, towed away by the whale. The boat managed to come ashore 1,500 miles away at the Marquesas Islands and the crew was rescued. Shortly after, Herman Melville visited the Marquesas Islands, “where he most likely heard the story of the lost boat,” Mr Renjilian said. “The same book locates Melville’s Acushnet and the Congress together at the Galapagos Islands in 1842,” he said. It is not unlikely that the crews of both ships would have visited each other.

The journal is undoubtedly one of the most valuable books to come in possession of the Friends in many years, Mr Renjilian said. Priced at $3,500, it is not a purchase likely to be picked up on a whim. In a good year, the specials collections raises about $5,000 for the Friends at the Book Sale, Mr Renjilian said. The sale of the whaling journal will be a boost to the fundraiser, Mr Renjilian said.

Mr Renjilian does not doubt that the journal will sell, however.

“Anyone in the rare book world would love to have it,” he said. “Americana or mariner dealers will have high interest in it. There is a steady market for these whaling journals,” he said.

Other Gems

There are several other gems in this year’s treasure chest of collectible and rare books, said Mr Renjilian. A six-volume collection from Easton Press, each book written and signed by the astronauts from the Apollo era, is priced at $1,500.

Drawn From New England is a book by Bethany Tudor, about her mother, the well-known New England illustrator and author Tasha Tudor. This signed book will sell for $150, Mr Renjilian said.

An early edition of Lullabies & Nightsongs, with music by Alec Wilder and illustrations by Maurice Sendak, will be attractive to collectors of books by the Where The Wild Things Are author.

David the Dreamer has drawings that are “quite nice,” Mr Renjilian noted. Written by Ralph Bergengren, what is especially of interest is that the German Art Deco (Jugendstil) illustrations are the work of Tom Freud.

“Tom Freud was the niece, not nephew, of Sigmund Freud. She took on a man’s name as her own, dressed like a man, and wrote under that name,” he said. The talented artist ended her own life in 1930, after the suicide of her husband the year before. According to her biography, “Because Seidmann-Freud was Jewish, many copies of her books vanished during Hitler’s regime and have become comparatively difficult to find on the antiquarian market.” While pricing was not yet set, the 1922 copy of David the Dreamer “might fetch a nice price” at the book sale, commented Mr Renjilian.

A book by Sigmund Freud is also in the collection this year. Introductory Lectures on Psych-Analysis, 1929, revised edition, is just $35, due to some wear on the head and foot of the spine.

Die Bucher Der Bibel (Bible), a three-volume set from 1923, will be at the sale, priced at $250. Volume I, by Westerman, was published in 1909; volumes II and III, Harz, in 1923. Illustrations are by E.M. Lilien.

Time At Her Heels, by Dorothy Aldis, contains a fine-line inscription to historical novelist Esther Forbes, March 1937. Slightly worn, this book will sell for $25.

Whether collecting for a book’s value, esthetic properties, or just for fun, there will be no shortage of choices in the Specials Collection room at Reed Intermediate School, Mr Renjilian promised. The Specials Collection at the sale will offer “hundreds of selections,” Mr Renjilian said. “I have boxed up several boxes already and lost count. Usually, we have three to four tables full of special offerings,” he said.

For more information about the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale, visit www.boothbooksale.org, e-mail boothbooks@yahoo.com, or call 203-426-4533.