Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates: Fiction, Fact & Fancy Concerning the Buccaneers & Marooners of the Spanish Main

First edition, first impression.  [2] xiv [1], 247 [5] pp; 12 colour plates and 24 full page drawings, plus illustrations in text, all by Howard Pyle. Tipped in illustration on page three as well as on front board. Date code of K-V indicates that this issue is a first edition, printed in October 1921. The first edition was produced in two formats – a trade binding and 50 copies on Japanese Vellum – this is from the trade issue.  Quarter-bound in cloth over illustrated buff boards. Small folio. Boards are rubbed and scuffed on edges, and cloth over spine is heavily worn, chipped and scuffed; a few mild marks. Front hinge a little chipped and loosening, else internally neat, clean, bright and tight.  

For Howard Pyle, pirate gold and pirate adventure held for Howard Pyle endless fascination, despite his Quaker roots. With pen and brush he captured the roistering, adventurous, daredevil spirit for which legendary pirates, such as Blue Beard and Blackbeard, stand. Mr Pyle’s well-deserved reputation as an artist rests today largely on his portrayals of pirates. This collection, now hard to find, of his pirate stories and pirate pictures will appeal to the collector of beautiful books as a fine example of American book-making in the 1920s. As a gift book for anyone who likes stories about pirates, its equal can’t be found.

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