TOM BLAKE: UNCOMMON JOURNEY of a PIONEER WATERMAN, by Gary Lynch and Malcolm Gault-Williams.

Published by the Croul Family Foundation, Corona del Mar, California, 2001. FIRST and LIMITED EDITION, this being number 1774 of 2700 copies. From the title page: "First Printing, January 2001 / Book Number 1774 of a Limited Edition of 2700."

RICHLY ILLUSTRATED with 100s of b&w PHOTOGRAPHS and facsimiles of some of his surfboard design drawings (including a fold-open board design).

Hardcover book, cloth covered boards, photographic title plate on the front cover, black embossed titling to the spine, 9.5x12 inches, 256 pages.

FINE condition: Sharp cornered, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A lovely copy.

One of the best books on the foundational history of surfing that I have seen.

About TOM BLAKE (from Wikipedia):

******Thomas Edward Blake, b.1902 d.1994, was an American athlete, widely considered to be one of the most influential surfers in history, and a key figure in transforming surfing from a regional Hawaiian specialty to a nationally popular sport. Assessing Blake's significance, sociologist Kristin Lawler wrote:

"Tom Blake is a legendary figure; he's considered the founder of California surf culture. He personally innovated most of what's associated with surfers to this day: he was the first to experiment with making better surfboards, revolutionizing board design in the process with lightweight materials and the fin; he was the first to build a waterproof camera housing and inaugurated the tradition of surfers documenting themselves and their friends; and he was the first among countless surfers to come to write a book on the history and pleasures of surfing. In addition, his personal style became the prototypical beachcomber look, still in effect today."******