What would it have been like to sail almost 50,000 miles around the British Empire with the future King George V and Queen Mary?
Petty Officer Harry Price can give us a pretty good idea.
In 1901, Price was serving aboard HMS Ophir, the ship chosen to carry the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on their remarkable nine-month royal tour. The voyage took in Malta, Ceylon, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa and Canada.
But The Royal Tour 1901 isn't an official royal account. It is something much more personal, it's a facsimile of Price's own handwritten and illustrated journal, recording what he saw and experienced from the lower deck.
A sailor's-eye view
Price recorded the ships, ports, landscapes and ceremonies he encountered, illustrating his journal with wonderful illustrating life aboard and ashore from Ophir.
The contrast between the royal party and the ordinary sailors is particularly intriguing. More than 500 crew and staff accompanied the Duke and Duchess, while Ophir herself had been extensively refitted to provide suitably luxurious accommodation for its distinguished passengers.
Price, however, experienced the voyage as a working Royal Navy sailor.
That makes his account wonderfully different from the formal reports and photographs produced for the occasion.
A book that brings history to life
The original journal was eventually published by Webb & Bower in 1980, more than 75 years after the voyage with the ISBN of 0-906671-10-8 Our copy is one of these first editions reproducing Price's handwriting and illustrations, allowing us to see the journey almost as he recorded it at the time. It is not simply a story about royalty. It is the story of an extraordinary journey told by someone who was actually there, with a notebook, a keen eye and an artist's talent.
Yet even though this volume is a real gem, as an old book with a little sun damage on the slip, it's not a collectors item and as such has a low resale value, perhaps just over £3, which when you factor in the cost of packing and postage means the book itself is perhaps 40p. That's 40p for a truly fascinating hardbook that's effectively a time machine, which is why this one is going to be a personal keeper for our own bookshelves.
Do you have interesting old books?
At The Sussex Book Collector, we're always interested in books with a story to tell. Whether you've inherited a collection, are clearing a house or simply have books that deserve a new home, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
You can contact The Sussex Book Collector by email to discuss your books.
