My First Voyage to Southern Seas Illustrated 1896 Edition 
 
By W. H. G. Kingston
Published 1896 by T. Nelson & Sons, Paternoster Row, London
 
Overview
 
A richly illustrated late Victorian adventure by W. H. G. Kingston, one of the foremost writers of 19th-century boys’ maritime fiction. My First Voyage to Southern Seas follows a young boy’s first sea voyage to distant lands, reflecting the period’s fascination with exploration, moral courage, and the British imperial imagination.
 
This 1896 edition, part of the Kingston Library for Boys, contains fifty-three engraved illustrations, including a frontispiece depicting Port Louis. Its ornate binding and detailed illustrations make it both a charming collector’s item and a tangible piece of Victorian educational publishing.
 
About the Author
 
William Henry Giles Kingston (1814–1880) was a prolific English novelist renowned for his seafaring adventure tales for boys. A true Victorian moralist, Kingston’s works emphasised bravery, duty, and perseverance, qualities seen as essential for shaping the next generation of British men. His stories, often drawing on maritime life, were widely circulated in school libraries and Sunday reading rooms across the Empire.
 
After his death, Kingston’s wife and friends continued editing and publishing his remaining manuscripts, keeping his legacy alive well into the 1890s. My First Voyage to Southern Seas is a fine example of how his stories continued to educate and inspire posthumously.
 
About the Book
 
First published in the late 19th century, My First Voyage to Southern Seas immerses the reader in the excitement and peril of nautical life. Through vivid storytelling and moral undertones, Kingston guides young readers on a journey of discovery, self-reliance, and faith.
 
The fifty-three engravings vividly portray life at sea, tropical ports, wildlife, and the shipboard world of sailors. The frontispiece of Port Louis captures the romantic vision of colonial exploration that so appealed to Victorian audiences.
The inclusion of a Science and Art Prize plate for Leopold Josephs (awarded by Westoe Road Higher Grade School, South Shields, 1897) gives this copy remarkable historical interest, connecting it to a real student who benefited from late-Victorian educational reform and the aspirations of an immigrant family establishing themselves in England.
 
Physical Description
 
Binding: Original red cloth over boards with elaborate gilt and black decorations.
Front Cover: Illustrated with maritime motifs and black title lettering.
Spine: Gilt lettering with decorative devices; black detailing.
Rear Board: Blind-stamped emblem.
Endpapers: Floral patterned endpapers and pastedowns.
Illustrations: Fifty-three engravings, including a frontispiece of Port Louis.
Pagination: 448 pages.
Dimensions: Approx. 19.2 × 13.5 × 3.7 cm.
Weight: Approx. 696 g.
 
Exterior Condition
 
Original red cloth binding remains strong and intact. There is mild fading to the spine, small splits to the cloth at the head and tail, rubbing at edges, and light marking consistent with age. Corners are bumped, with cloth rips. Gilt titling on spine remains legible.
 
Interior Condition
 
Floral decorated endpapers. Science and Art Prize award plate on front pastedown for Leopold Josephs, Westoe Road Higher Grade School, South Shields, dated 1897. The name and school have been neatly crossed out in ink, suggesting the book later changed hands. Pen inscription on front pastedown for George Neumann, Bradford, transferred faintly to the facing page. A very small amount of pen on the back pastedown.
 
Pages are lightly tanned but clean, with only very occasional light/small marks. No rips, minimal foxing, and all 448 pages firmly bound. A few very light cracks between leaves but securely held overall.
 
Provenance & Historical Context
 
The Science and Art Prize plate traces this book to Leopold Josephs, son of David Josephs, a Russian-born pawnbroker and naturalised British subject (naturalisation recorded in 1898). The Josephs family lived at 9 Oxford Terrace, South Shields and originally from Kalvarija in the Russian Empire, were likely part of the Jewish immigrant community establishing new roots in South Shields during the late Victorian period.
Leopold, recorded on census documents as a clothier, remained in the Newcastle area into the 1920s. His story reflects the social mobility and educational progress of immigrant families in 19th-century Britain, making this copy a meaningful artefact of that era’s educational and cultural values.
The later ownership inscription of George Neumann (Bradford) further connects the book’s history to Yorkshire, suggesting careful preservation across generations.
 
Publisher Background
 
T. Nelson & Sons, based at Paternoster Row, London, were among the leading 19th-century publishers of illustrated educational books. Their publications balanced moral instruction with adventure, bringing high-quality printing and illustration to an accessible market.
 
Dimensions & Weight
 
Approx. 19.2 × 13.5 × 3.7 cm
Approx. 696 g