The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson & Lloyd Osbourne (1911 Scribner's Illustrated Edition) 🚢🏝️💰

This volume is an authenticated 1911 illustrated edition of The Wrecker, the sweeping South Seas adventure novel co-written by the legendary Robert Louis Stevenson and his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne.

Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, this is a vintage edition from a seminal period of American publishing. The book, though a later reprint of the 1892 original, is a required piece for any comprehensive collection of Victorian adventure and travel literature. Its appeal lies in its clean presentation, classic Scribner's decorative binding, and its historical reflection of the public's enduring fascination with the exotic South Pacific.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

The Wrecker is a genre-blending novel that functions as an adventure story, a comedy of manners, and a detective mystery. The novel follows the complicated life of Loudon Dodd, an American art student who is pulled away from his Bohemian life in Paris to enter into dubious business ventures with the "irrepressible" Jim Pinkerton. The plot's main mystery revolves around the abandoned wreck of the Flying Scud on Midway Atoll, which they purchase at a suspicious auction.

The book's title page specifies that the volume is Illustrated. The frontispiece, "THAT KIND OF AN ACCIDENT," SAID HE, vividly captures the dark intrigue at the heart of the story, showing two men poring over papers. The chapter titles, such as "The Wreck of the 'Flying Scud'," "The Island and the Wreck," and "Cross-Questions and Crooked Answers," highlight the narrative's focus on maritime suspense and the gradual unveiling of a deadly secret.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, celebrated as one of the great figures of Victorian literature, best known for Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In his later years, Stevenson settled in Samoa, seeking a climate beneficial to his health, where his later works—including this novel—were set.

The Wrecker is notable as one of three novels he co-authored with his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne (1868–1947). Osbourne lived and worked on the family plantation in Samoa and often collaborated on story ideas with Stevenson. This collaboration transformed Stevenson's experiences sailing aboard the schooner Equator in the South Seas into a sprawling, complex tale of adventure and avarice.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

The novel was originally copyrighted in 1891 and published in 1911, positioning it at the height of the Victorian fascination with imperial expansion and exotic locales. The book’s setting in the Marquesas and the South Pacific directly reflects the late-19th-century European and American interest in acquiring and exploring these remote territories.

This period of the early 20th century was defined by a public appetite for tales of adventure, hidden treasure, and the moral ambiguities of colonial commerce. The novel's blend of global travel, art, and finance speaks to the expanding reach of Western enterprise and the complex, often chaotic, mingling of cultures in the South Seas. This volume serves as a cultural record of the popular literary tastes and geopolitical anxieties of the era.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of Victorian and Edwardian Adventure Fiction and a devotee of Robert Louis Stevenson's life and work. The Ideal Collector is someone who seeks early, aesthetic editions of literary classics that are complete with the original illustrations.

The book belongs in a library focused on the Literary History of the South Seas and collaborative authorship. The clean, decorative green binding with the Scribner's colophon makes it an ideal display piece for a luxury environment that requires authentic period aesthetic appeal.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated 1911 printing and is 114 years old. Its base value is sustained by the quality of the Scribner's manufacturing and its status as a volume from a highly respected early 20th-century edition of Stevenson's works.

It is not the true 1892 First Edition, which means the mandatory deduction principle is applied. However, the book's Aesthetic Premium—its survival in clean condition, preserving the decorative gilt stamping and all original illustrations—secures its value at a high-end price point for a reprint. This volume is an acquisition that prioritizes vintage charm and structural integrity over elusive bibliographical scarcity.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a 1911 Scribner's hardcover lacking the original dust jacket. The overall condition is strong and visually appealing for a volume of this age.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The dark green cloth binding is square and tight.

  • The gilt lettering on the spine and the Scribner's colophon on the front board are clear.

  • The interior is clean, with all original illustrations and the frontispiece intact.

• Imperfections:

  • The gilt on the spine is moderately rubbed and shows some fading.

  • The outer text block edges show age-toning consistent with over a century of age.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket triggers a significant value reduction.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The Wrecker was inspired by Stevenson's real-life experiences sailing through the South Pacific aboard the schooner Equator in 1888.

• The novel's central theme—the mystery of the ship Flying Scud—was inspired by a real-life auction of a wrecked brig that Stevenson and Osbourne attempted to buy for a song.

• The character "Remittance Man" Tommy Hadden was modeled on a real passenger named Jack Buckland whom Stevenson and Osbourne met on their 1890 voyage aboard the Janet Nicholl.

• The writing of The Wrecker was a literal collaboration; Stevenson and Osbourne each contributed different sections, but agreed to develop characters and descriptions of places they both knew well.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: The Wrecker

• Author: Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne

• Year of Publication: 1911

• Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons

• Place of Origin: New York

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Green Cloth Boards with Gilt Stamping

• Edition: Scribner's Illustrated Edition Reprint

• Rarity: Common Edition, Rare in True First Printing

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking: The price notation on the front free endpaper is "$10.00".