The Far Side of the World [First State]

London: Collins, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. The tenth Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novel, set during the War of 1812. O'Brian's series of meticulously detailed nautical novels set during the early 19th century set a high bar for historical fiction. This novel provides the plot to the film Master and Commander, starring Russell Crowe.

The middle novels of the 21-book series are some of the scarcest first editions in the series. This book is particularly tough as the publisher changed the price (or misprinted it) on the dust jacket and issued most copies with a clipped jacket and a price sticker. First edition (first printing). A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with only the slightest fading to the spine. This jacket is not price-clipped, but it has the price sticker, making it an uncommon intermediate state. It is entirely likely that many of the copies currently offered for sale with the original £8.95 unclipped price and no sticker have simply had the sticker removed. I considered having a paper conservator remove the price but decided this copy more accurately shows the history of the book. Unclipped dust jackets are rather scarce, with or without the sticker. The red-orange dust jacket is particularly prone to fading and this one remains bright.