Description:

London Jack 1876 - 1916

"Call of the Wild"'s Jack London signed check, photo, and autographed notes on "The Cruise of the Snark" draft.

Check drawn on the bank "The Merchant National Bank of San Francisco", dated "Nov 19, 1909", and made payable to "W.H. Hall" for "49.90", signed by American novelist Jack London (1876-1916) as "Jack London". Small cancellation holes slightly affecting signature, else near fine, check measuring 6.25" x 2.75". Accompanied by a single typed page purple stamped "1st Rev" at top and which includes numerous pencil annotations and edits in the hand of Jack London. For example: "We slacked the mainsail off with no more result", which was incorporated into the story's final state. Page slightly grubby with a stray red mark. Professional repair to several small intact tears, expected folds and small circular holes to right margin. Also includes a black and white photograph with handwritten caption: "Our Head - sails", 2" x 3.25".

London's edits were ultimately incorporated into the final published draft of his book, "The Cruise of the Snark", a non-fictional, illustrated book chronicling his sailing adventure in 1907 across the south Pacific. By this time, London had already published an extensive body of works including "The Call of the Wild", "White Fang" and "The Sea Wolf", in addition to numerous other novels, plays, short stories and non-fiction pieces. Some of London's most famous literary quotes appear in "The Cruise of the Snark", including:

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet."

Jack London began designing his own 45-foot sailboat, the "Snark", with funds from his commercially successful books. On sailing in the South Pacific, London wrote:

"The things I like constitute my set of values. The thing I like most of all is personal achievement - not achievement for the world's applause, but achievement for my own delight. It is the old "I did it! I did it! With my own hands I did it!" But personal achievement, with me, must be concrete. I'd rather win a water-fight in the swimming pool, or remain astride a horse that is trying to get out from under me, than write the great American novel. Each man to his liking. Some other fellow would prefer writing the great American novel to winning the water-fight or mastering the horse."

London's handwritten edits are shown underlined below:

" ... which we would have depended in time of storm. At the present moment the Snark trails her mainsail like a broken wing, the gooseneck being replaced by a rough lashing. We'll see if we can get honest iron in Honolulu.

Man had betrayed us and sent us to sea in a sieve, but the Lord must have loved us, for we had calm weather in which to learn that we must pump every day in order to keep afloat, and that more trust could be placed in a wooden toothpick than in the most massive piece of iron to be found aboard. As the staunchness and the strength of the Snark went glimmering, Charmian and I pinned our faith more and more to the Snark's wonderful bow. There was nothing else left to pin to. It was all inconceivable and monstrous, we knew, but that bow, at least, was rational. And then, one evening, we started to heave to.

How shall I describe it? First of all , for the benefit of the tyro, let me explain that heaving to is that sea maneuver which, by means of short and balanced canvas, compels a vessel to ride bow-on to wind and sea. When the wind is too strong, or the sea is too high, a vessel of the size of the Snark can heave to with ease, whereupon there is no more work to do on deck. Nobody needs to steer. The lookout is superfluous. All hands can go below and sleep or play whist.

Well, it was blowing half of a very small summer gale, when I told Roscoe we'd heave to. Night was coming on. I had been steering nearly all day, and all hands on deck (Roscoe and Bert and Charmian) were tired, while all hands below were seasick. It happened that we had already put two reefs in the big mainsail. The flying-jib and the jib were taken in, and a reef put in the fore-staysail. The mizzen was also taken in. About this time the flying jib-boom buried itself in a sea and broke short off. I started to put the wheel down in order to heave to. The Snark at the moment was rolling in the trough. She continued rolling in the trough. I put the spokes down harder and harder. She never budged from the trough. (The trough, gentle reader, is the most dangerous position all in which to lay a vessel.) I put the wheel hard down, and still the Snark rolled in the trough. Eight points was the nearest I could get her to the wind. I had Roscoe and Bert come in on the main-sheet. The Snark rolled on in the trough, now putting her rail under on one side and now under on the other side.

Again the inconceivable and monstrous was showing its grizzly head. It was grotesque, impossible. I refused to believe it. Under double-reefed mainsail and single-reefed staysail the Snark refused to heave to. We flattened the mainsail down. It did not alter the Snark's course a tenth of a degree. We slacked the mainsail off with no more result . We set a storm trysail on the mizzen, and took in the mainsail."

An extremist, radical and searcher, Jack London was never destined to grow old. On November 22, 1916, London, author of "The Call of the Wild", died at age 40. His short life was controversial and contradictory.

An incredible Jack London archive which includes a sheet of this extraordinary author's personal edits!

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