A Ramble Round the Globe (1894, first edition)

The author, "Tommy" the first Baron Dewar, was the son of James Dewar, who was famous as the first Scotch whisky blender. Today his book - certainly in this (perhaps the only) edition is valuable (a signed copy is on offer at $1500), but we suspect less because of his association with the whisky distillery than because his book is brightly written, amusingly (and liberally) illustrated (in the text) and attractively produced.

Staying with the Scotch for the moment, Dewar's White Label is still a premium brand. James Dewar may have been the first whisky distiller to master the art of blending, which made his Scotch constant in aroma and colour and, therefore, especially at the time, more easily recognisable than other Scotches.

Light-blue cloth-boards with a steamship and Mt Fuji printed in colour on the upper board and a mountain railcar, also in colour, and gilt lettering on the spine. Brown leaf-pattern printed endpapers. Tissue-protected halftone frontispiece photograph of the author. Decorated title-page printed in red and black. xv + 316 pp of text, profusely illustrated in b/w + 32 pp of publisher's announcements.

The covers are bumped at the corners and rubbed at the head of the spine; the spine cover appears to have been re-pasted down with 3-4 mm of white showing at the vertical cover joins and the foot. The upper board and spine are clear but the lower board is lightly rubbed and stained. Both endpapers are superficially cracked but with no damage to the hinges; the binding remaining tight. A Caledon Public Library label and a very small green Darter Bros & Walton Cape Town bookseller sticker are on the front paste-down; also a library rubber-stamp and printed book number on the title-page; but no ownership or other markings. The frontispiece tissue is present but has minor tears. The text-block is complete and undiscoloured.

The copy will sit well in any collection without repair.