A bound ledger-style journal on a circumnavigation of a merchant ship kept by ‘B. F. Jackson’, 51pp. of entries, folio. The ship is unnamed, and departed New York, June 23, 1883, bound for Surabaya, Indonesia, where she arrived on Nov. 1, 1883 and picked up a cargo of sugar. On the voyage eastward from Indonesia, the ship was becalmed for a week off of Java Head, then rounded the Horn and reached St. Helena by May, 1884. She then arrived at New York on July 11, 1884. Jackson’s entries are almost exclusively concerned with position, weather, course, sail handling and ships sighted, though there are occasional nuggets of other information such as: ‘…at 7 o’clock this morning…Lenocker a young German fell out from the yard. He struck the rail on his stomach and fell inboard on the deck. Sewed him up in canvas with a bit of sand at his feet at 11 o’clock and at 4 o’clock we buried him in a sailor’s grave…’. On the last page of the ledger, Jackson makes note of his ship-board purchases such as ‘rubber boots…drawers…tobacco…’ and so forth. He also pastes a number of poems and songs printed in newspapers at the time, no doubt to help while away the long time at sea. Bound in linen with leather accents. Leather removed from spine, front cover largely detached, otherwise still very good.