P DAWLISH - JOHNNO THE DEEP-SEA DIVER - LIVE & ADVENTURES -JOHN JOHNSTONE - ILLUS RARE HARRAP 1ST

From the fly of dustcover:  This is the life story of the famous deep-sea diver, John Johnstone, from his boyhood in Liverpool until now, when he is salvaging ships sunk in the war with Japan. In the many years he has been a diver, Johnno has had enough adventure to satisfy twenty people. He has been trapped under a sunken ship, held prisoner by a groper-the most ferocious fish in the world, salvaged ships with Japanese bombers overhead, and taken a quarter of a million pounds worth of gold bullion from a wreck sunk off the coast of New Zealand, to mention only a few of his exploits. Most of his diving work has been carried out round the coasts of Australia and in the shark-infested waters of the East Indies. There, in his spare moments, he has dived among the beautiful coral gardens, gathering wonderful shells. His work has not been all danger. He has had many delightful hours, finding companions in the brilliantly coloured fish of the tropics. A baby seal adopted him, and  used to meet him when he went down! He met all sorts of interesting people, such as crocodile hunters, a boy who lived by catching snakes and getting their  venom, pearl divers, and natives who dived naked to gather shells to be made into pearl buttons. Few men, even divers, have had such an adventurous life, and  now Peter Dawlish, famous for his stories of the sea, tells Johnno's life story as I Johnno himself.

1960 first ed  George G. Harrap ex library, illustrated rare hard back, original dust jacket; 160 pages. Dimensions: 22 cms tall by 14 cms wide. Hardback well-binded, clean text pages, wear to first end page where cards were removed as well as watermark. Orange hardback covers show watermarks and dustcover has wear and a small tear to top spine (see photos underneath).