First UK Edition. Publisher's green cloth with silver lettering to the spine. FLAT-SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE. A VG+ copy in a D/W that is VG indeed with some minor chips and tears to extremities (not affecting any lettering), and with the fold of the front flap a trifle worn. Flat-signed copies (as opposed to the more common first editions signed on a book-plate) are exceedingly uncommon. The First Hornblower.