MASTER AND COMMANDER together with MEN-OF-WAR. [50th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION.]

UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn thus.[50th Anniversary Special Edition.Originally first published and the author's debut novel of the series (UK,1970),together with THE complete text of 'Men-Of-War' previously unavailable,a new foreword by his stepson and biographer Nikolai Tolstoy,an artist's note by Geoff Hunt who illustrated the books' dws/djs and facsimile reproductions of a selection of letters from the author to his editor.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,colour pictorial artwork by Geoff Hunt,illustrated front panel of dw/dj with a gilt-bordered edges,along with capitalised gilt lettered author name,capitalised master lettered titles and gilt lettered Foreword by Nikolai Tolstoy; and a acircular gilt-edged border with capitalised black-lettered ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION around an inner black circle with white 50th notation,spine/ backstrip with gilt-edged black panel with repeated coloured lettering of capitalised gilt-lettered author name and capitalised, white-lettered titles and white illustrated+lettered publisher's colophon to foot of same,rear panel with critics' gilt+white-lettered reviews. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges lightly aged/toned but without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight, clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - possibly unread, apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,criap,clean,sharp-cornered - exception of front lower corner - minimally bumped,original plain navy blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip and immaculate plain pale orange endpapers.UK, small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn thus,vii-xxpp+1-462pp [paginated] includes a new Foreword by Nikolai Tolstoy,latin dedication, with a square-rigged ship's b/w illustration and numbered key,to its reverse,Author's Note,Artist's Note,12 chapters of Master and Commander; plus [unpaginated] colour pictorial artwork illustrated recto+verso page by Geoff Hunt,hakf-title+title pages,and a contents list/table,Alan Judd's 'Spectator' article,and complete text of 'Men-of-War; 413pp-459pp [paginated] includes an Introduction,5 sections: The Ships,The Guns,The Ship's Company,Life at Sea and Songs accompanied with several b/w illustrations,and an Index; plus [unapaginated] title separator page and a contents list/table - both with a blank verso,and to the rear,[unpaginated] 10pp of 10 facsimile reproductions of author's letters to his Editor. Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable,and particularly internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/ state of preservation and presentation.It is only the minimal exterior faults described that prevents a slightly higher overall grading. Despite them, it really is an exceptional copy for its cleanliness and brightness. 'Master and Comander' is the first of Patrick o'Brian's now famous Aubrey/Maturin novels, now regarded by many as the greatest series of historical novels ever written.I establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN and Stephen Maturin,who becomes his secretive ship's surgeon and an intelligence agent.It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly he hoped for in a historical novel,but it also displays the qualities which have put O'Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war,of weapons,food,conversation and ambience,of the landscape aand of the sea.O'Brian's portrayal of each of these is faultless and the sense of period throughout is acute.His power of characterisation is above all masterly. Please contact seller,because of the weight/value of this item, for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded, after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **