Unusual first edition
A Ramble Round the Globe is an 1894book by Thomas Dewar detailing his journey around the world publicizing Dewars Scotch Whisky. The book is at least purportedly Dewar's journal, written solely for his friends who "wanted to know 'all about it.
The author, "Tommy" the first Baron Dewar, was the son of James Dewar, who was famous as the first Scotch whisky blender. Today his book - certainly in this (perhaps the only) edition is valuable (a signed copy is on offer at $1500), but we suspect less because of his association with the whisky distillery than because his book is brightly written, amusingly (and liberally) illustrated (in the text) and attractively produced.
Staying with the Scotch for the moment, Dewar's White Label is still a premium brand. James Dewar may have been the first whisky distiller to master the art of blending, which made his Scotch constant in aroma and colour and, therefore, especially at the time, more easily recognisable than other Scotches.
Light-blue cloth-boards with a steamship and Mt Fuji printed in colour on the upper board and a mountain railcar, also in colour, and gilt lettering on the spine. Brown leaf-pattern printed endpapers. Tissue-protected halftone frontispiece photograph of the author. Decorated title-page printed in red and black. xv + 316 pp of text, profusely illustrated in b/w + 32 pp of publisher's announcements.
