Franklin Library: The Call Of The Wild: Jack London: Alaskan Dog Story
Item History & Price
Franklin Library leather edition of Jack London's "The Call of the Wild, " a Limited edition, Illustrated by David J. Passalacqua, one of the 100 GREATEST MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE series, published in 1977. Bound in camel tan leather, the book has hunter green French moire silk end leaves, hubbed spine, a satin book marker, gold gilding on three edges---in near FINE condition---except for minor imperfection to top gilt. Jack London, who lived from 1876-1916, was se...lf-educated and self-made. Born an illegitimate child in San Francisco, London escaped by reading in the Oakland Library. "The Call of the Wild" opens with Buck, a large and powerful St. Bernard-Scotch Shepherd, living happily in California's Santa Clara Valley as the pet of Judge Miller. He is stolen by the gardener's assistant, however, sold to fund the latter's gambling addiction, and shipped to Seattle. Put in a crate, he is starved and ill-treated. When released, he attacks the "man in the red sweater" but is badly beaten and taught to respect the "law of the club." Buck is then sold to a pair of French-Canadian dispatchers from the Canadian government, François and Perrault, who take him with them to the KLONDITE region of Canada. There, they train him as a sled dog. From his teammates, he quickly learns to survive cold winter nights and the pack society. A rivalry develops between Buck and the vicious, quarrelsome lead dog, Spitz. Buck eventually beats Spitz in a fight "to the death." Spitz is killed by the pack after his defeat by Buck, and Buck eventually becomes the leader of the team. The team is then sold to a "Scottish half-breed" man working the mail service. The dogs must carry heavy loads to the mining areas, and the journeys they made were tiresome and long. Buck's next owners are a trio of stampeders (Hal, Charles, and a woman named Mercedes from the United States), who are inexperienced at surviving in the Northern wilderness. They struggle to control the sled and ignore warnings that the spring melt poses dangers. They overfeed the dogs and then starve them when the food runs out. On their journey they meet John Thornton, an experienced outdoorsman, who notices the dogs have been poorly treated and are in a weakened condition. He warns the trio against crossing the river, but they ignore his advice and order Buck to move on. Exhausted, starving, and sensing the danger ahead, Buck refuses and continues to lie unmoving in the snow. After Buck is beaten by Hal, Thornton recognizes him to be a remarkable dog. Buck comes to love and grow devoted to Thornton as he nurses him back to health. He saves Thornton when the man falls into a river. A king of the Skookum Benches offers a large sum to buy Buck, but Thornton has grown fond of him and declines. Ultimately, Buck returns to the "wild." 157 pages. I offer Combined shipping.
