First 1895 edition, signed ‘Voyages of Nicholas Ball’ of Block Island

Item Details

“Voyages of Nicholas Ball, from 1838 to 1853 In Tabulated Form, with Notes. Together with a Summary of a Trip to Europe in 1888” published 1895 by L. Barta & Co., Printers, Boston. A native of Block Island, Rhode Island, Ball ventured west to make his considerable fortune in gold mining and other endeavors, returning to build the Ocean View Hotel resort. Hard cover, brown cloth lettered in gilt, 38 pages, some engravings in the text along with some narrative and tabular list of voyages, and an itemized gold mining record. Clean pages, with slight foxing -- mostly on frontispiece portrait of Ball. Binding exterior in good condition, with some age wear. Contents partially loose from binding (inside front cover). Contains presentation stamp and signature of Ball, and taped inside the front cover, a note from a previous owner, who was passing the volume along to a new generation: “This is a rare book of Americana and doubly so, as it is a presentation copy to your great grandfather Daniel B. Allen, who was also a ‘49er in the California Gold Rush. -- Barbara C. Taylor, 1958.” Ads inside back cover for Ball’s Ocean View Hotel on Block Island, and for another Ball book, “The Pioneers of ‘49.” Measures @ 6.5 x 9.75 inches.