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Anson Voyage Round the World 1748 1ST EDITION 42 Plates
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Anson Voyage Round the World 1748 1ST EDITION 42 Plates
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Offered is a very attractive complete copy of the first issue of the first edition of Anson’s “Voyage Round the World,” printed in quarto at London in 1748 and adorned with 42 of the finest plates ever produced for an account of a voyage, including important maps of Acapulco, the Philippines, California, and several Brazilian harbours, a fine map of the world, and wonderful scenes depicting the burning of Payta, the taking of the Nostra Seignora de Cabadonga by the Centurion, the watering place at Tienan, and Chinese trading ships, amongst numerous others. The account, of course, was actually written by Richard Walter, Anson’s chaplain during the voyage. Overnight, 17 July, this book was maliciously 'purchased' by a fraudulent account; please be assured that this book is still for sale. Notably, the map of the world shows California as an island. Fully 41 of the plates are folding. This copy may be identified as a first issue by the misnumbering of page 319 as 219. This copy also unusually complete, since it contains both the list of subscribers and the leaf of directions to the bookbinder, which are frequently lacking. Most of the folding plates are about 2.5 times the size of the book. Some of the folding maps in this remarkable volume are about 6 or 8 times the size of the book (as may be seen in the photos below). The full title of the volume reads as follows: “A Voyage Round the World, IN the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV. / By / George Anson, Esq; Commander in Chief of a Squadron of His Majesty’s Ships, sent upon an Expedition to the South-Seas. / Compiled From Papers and other Materials of the Right Honourable George Lord Anson, and published under his Direction, By Richard Walter, M.A. Chaplain of his Majesty’s Ship the Centurion, in that Expedition. / Illustrated with Forty-Two Copper-Plates. / Lodon: Printed for the Author; By John and Paul Knapton, in Ludgate-Street. MDCCXLVIII [1748].” Anson’s voyage is universally recognized as one of the greatest tales of seafaring ever told, and was the most popular travel book of the 18th century. The essential details are as follows. In 1740, during the war of the Austrian Succession, Commodore Anson was ordered to attack Spanish possessions off the Western coasts of North and South America. His mission encountered hardship after hardship. Two of the six ships, Pearl and Severn, that left London failed to round Cape Horn and had to return home. A third, Wager, wrecked off Chile, and by the time Anson, in Centurion, and the remaining two ships had made the western coast of South America, they had lost 626 of their 965 collective crew-members. At this point, their luck changed. Anson found that he was able to harass South American ports and shipping more or less with impunity, and sacked the town of Payta to great effect, capturing six ships and the town’s treasure. At this point, Anson decided to consolidate his crews in Centurion and sail as a single ship. He rested and took water at the island of Tienan, then sailed for Macau, w he was detained for some time. It was upon this leg of the journey that Anson gained his greatest prize, when Centurion captured the Manila-bound Spanish Galleon, Nostra Seignora de Cabadonga (all spellings as they appear in this volume), laden with no less than 1.31 million pieces of eight. The pieces of eight were sold to the Chinese in Macau, and returned to England via the Cape of Good Hope in 1744. The prize money Anson earned during the voyage made him wealthy almost beyond imagining, and sufficed to make his heirs excessively wealthy for generations. The volume is nicely bound in 18th century calf, rebacked during the 20th century. The boards show wear at the corners and the edges, with some dryness of the leather. The spine is in excellent condition, with six compartments, raised and gilt bands, and the title in gilt. Internally, the volume is in very good condition, with the plates in particular in excellent condition. T is a relative...
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