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Richard Byrd LITTE AMERICA 1930 Handwritten Story

Title: Little America
Author: Richard Evelyn Byrd
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Printing Year: 1930, printer's error copy with handwritten story

Condition/Details: Bound in blue cloth boards with gilt embossing, this copy of Richard E. Byrd's book about Antarctic expedition is a true oddity: at page ten, due to a printer's error, the text cuts out and the remainder of the book consists of blank pages. On these blank pages, however, there is a handwritten story, likely in the author's own hand. The writing begins "Here's Where The Story Really Begins," and continues with just a few words per page until the story is truncated by a loss of some of the text block. The pages resume entirely blank. The handwriting appears at least largely consistent with other established examples of Byrd's penmanship. Byrd was a pioneering polar explorer and aviator, and the recipient of the Medal of Honor. Although his claim that he reached the North Pole by airplane in 1926 was recently found to have been falsified after decades of debate, the Naval admiral did achieve many aviation and polar exploration achievements. The volume shows light external wear, and is bound with clean pages; aside from the missing text block, the pages and binding are intact. The handwritten component is boldly inscribed in blue ink on clean pages. The endpaper is marked "defective" in marker. The book measures approximately 6.5" x 9.5". Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50