1898 First Edition - The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Whales

Author: Frank T. Bullen.
Title: The Cruise of the “Cachalot”: Round the World After Sperm Whales.
Publisher: London, Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, 1898. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 x 5.5 inches.
Pages: xx-379 pages.
Binding: Very good binding, beautifully bound in full red morocco leather by Zaehnsdorf, London, with raised bands, gilt titling to spine, and exquisite inner dentelles richly gilt in floral design (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, spine darkened - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt.  
Content: Very good, near fine content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, engraved bookplate monogram (AM?) on the front pastedown - as shown, small, faint inscription to the half-title page - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with full-page frontispiece, 8 full-page plates (including dramatic whale hunting scenes), and one folding map of the whaling voyage track. All illustrations as listed are present and in excellent condition. 

Estimate: (USD 300–350).

The book: A beautiful Zaehnsdorf-bound 1898 First edition of The Cruise of the “Cachalot”, one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of the global sperm whaling industry at the end of the 19th century. Bullen's memoir reads with the drama and detail of Melville’s Moby-Dick, but with the authority of a man who truly lived the harsh, perilous life aboard a whaler. This copy, beautifully bound by one of London’s finest binderies, elevates the work to a collector’s treasure—rarely found in such nice and decorative condition.

The author: Frank Thomas Bullen (1857–1915) was an English sailor and author known for his sea narratives. Having run away to sea as a boy, Bullen worked his way up from cabin boy to first mate, gathering the rich experience that would fuel his writings. The Cruise of the “Cachalot”, published in 1898, was his breakout success, bringing him literary fame and cementing his place among the great maritime chroniclers of the era.

The binding: Zaehnsdorf of London, active since 1842, was one of England’s most respected bookbinding firms, renowned for their precise craftsmanship, quality materials, and richly gilt dentelles. This binding is a textbook example of their late 19th-century excellence—handsome, balanced, and undeniably collectible.