1897 First Edition bound by Asprey - Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Author: Rudyard Kipling. Illustrated by I. W. Taber.
Title: Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks.
Publisher: London, Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1897. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size:  7 x 5 inches. 
Pages: viii-245 pages + publisher's catalogue.
Binding: Attractive and near fine binding, handsomely bound in full teal morocco leather by Asprey, London. Five raised bands to the spine, compartments ruled and lettered in gilt. Boards framed with a gilt border (hinges fine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. A refined and elegant late-Victorian luxury binding.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with all the full-page illustrations by I. W. Taber. The illustrations vividly capture maritime life on the Grand Banks, with dramatic seascapes, ships, and fishing scenes integral to the narrative.

Estimate: (USD 1000–1200).

The book: Captains Courageous is one of Rudyard Kipling’s most enduring works, inspired by his own voyage across the North Atlantic and rooted in the harsh realities of the Grand Banks fishing fleets. Published in 1897, the same year Kipling received international acclaim for The Jungle Book, this novel blends adventure, moral formation, and maritime realism with remarkable authenticity. This first edition, enhanced by a finely executed Asprey morocco binding, transforms the book into a true collector’s copy, uniting literary significance with exceptional craftsmanship.

The author: Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was one of the most influential English-language writers of his generation and the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1907). His works explore empire, duty, resilience, and identity, often grounded in firsthand experience. Captains Courageous stands apart within his oeuvre as a deeply humane and disciplined coming-of-age novel shaped by the sea rather than the empire.

The illustrator: Isaac Walton Taber (c. 1857 – February 12, 1933) was an American illustrator active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also known as "Walton Taber." As his work was often credited to "I. W. Taber," he has been confused with the photographer Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912). Taber's illustrations were published in magazines, including St. Nicholas and Century. Tabor illustrated Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous, Frank T. Bullen's Cruise of the Cachalot, and the 1928 edition of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.