The Sea, with and without Cannibals, from Ten Pound Island

A popular story in an earlier era was that of the female sailor or soldier, the one who dressed like a man and got away with it. How one might pull this off on a boat is unclear, but apparently Anne Jane Thornton succeeded. This one is actually a true story. At the age of 13, the young Irish lass was smitten by an English sea captain whose father lived in New York. After he sailed off for his father's home, she determined to follow him. At the age of 15, she dressed up as a boy and sailed for New York. She tracked down her beloved's father, only to learn that her love had died a few days earlier. Alone without money in New York, she decided to continue her role as a boy and got a job as a cook on a ship. She was able to continue getting jobs at sea this way for three years until another crewman spotted her dressing one day. The ship took her to London where she was a great sensation. Thornton rejected offers to appear on stage, but she did write a book about her adventures. Item 13 is a broadside evidently meant to promote her book. It is headed, The Female Sailor. The date would be circa 1835. Thornton lived until 1877. Item 13. $3,500.

Item 4 is Ambrose Bowden's classic A Treatise on Dry Rot. Ten Pound gently notes that “Dry rot is not a particularly enthralling subject.” However, it must have been to someone as that person bought this book when it was published in 1815. Dry rot is the term for fungal decay of wood, particularly, at this time, with reference to the timber in ships. Fortunately, this book has not been subject to this condition. For those who collect dry rot (books on the subject, not rotted planks), this book is a must. $1,250.

Ten Pound Island Book Company may be reached at 978-283-5299 or tenpound@tenpound.com. Their website is www.tenpound.com