"The Pilot" by James Fenimore Cooper, illustrated with woodcuts by Robert M. Quackenbush, published by Heritage Press, New York, 1968. Copyright 1968 by George Macy (the owner of the Limited Editions Club and Heritage Press). Includes original Heritage Club Sandglass pamphlet laid in.

Original slipcase, hard boards, plain white cloth, green decoration on front board, green box with gilt lettering on spine; 7.1/4" x 10"; inscription on the front endpaper, color frontispiece; xvi + 357 pages with b/w text illustrations + 10 full-page color plates and 2 double-page plates, very good condition.

Robert Mead Quackenbush (1929-2021) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He authored 110 books and illustrated 60 more by 1999. He is noted for creating the characters Henry the Duck, Detective Mole, and Miss Mallard.

"The Pilot": A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1824 (the earliest edition is actually dated 1823). Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution. Background: The Pilot was Cooper's fourth novel and his first sea tale. A sailor by profession, Cooper had undertaken to surpass Walter Scott's Pirate (1821) in seamanship.

The hero of the book is John Paul Jones, who appears as always brooding upon a dark past and a darker fate. Yet he is not so morbid but that he can occasionally rouse himself to terrific activities in his raids along the English coast. Another character is Long Tom Coffin, of Nantucket, comparable to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo from Cooper's other novels...

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. He lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William on property that he owned.
He attended Yale University for three years. Before embarking on his career as a writer, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Midshipman, which greatly influenced many of his novels and other writings. The novel that launched his career was "The Spy", a tale about counterespionage set during the Revolutionary War and published in 1821. He also wrote numerous sea stories, and his best-known works are five historical novels of the frontier period known as the Leatherstocking Tales. Among his most famous works is the Romantic novel "The Last of the Mohicans", often regarded as his masterpiece.

US: Priority (c.2-6 days) ----------- $12.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-7 weeks) ----- $32.50
World: Priority (c.2-10 weeks) ----- $45.50