Voyage to the South Seas, in the Years 1740-1. Containing a Faithful
Item #67136
BULKELEY, John, and John CUMMINS. A Voyage to the South Seas, in the Years 1740-1. Containing a Faithful Narrative of the Loss of His Majesty's Ship the the [sic] Wager on A Desolate Island.... London, Printed; Philadelphia, Reprinted. 1757. xxxii,306 [i.e. 296]pp. (pages 257-266 omitted from the pagination, as issued). Full antique-style calf. Tanned throughout. Title repair in top left corner, with expert facsimile supplying three letters of the title, repair to outer corner of the next leaf, not affecting text. OVerall very good. First American edition of this prime source for the wreck of the Wager off the coast of Chile, beyond the Straits of Magellan. The ship, with Anson's fleet, was en route to harass the Spanish. Bulkeley, the ship's carpenter, and Cummins led the small group of survivors until their landing at Rio de Janeiro and finally England, concluding a voyage that had lasted almost two years. Bulkeley settled in Pennsylvania and arranged for the publication of this edition, after the first of 1743. It is the first major voyage to be published in the British colonies. The work contains the narrative of Isaac Morris, one of the members of the Wager's crew left in Patagonia, on pages 244-303, as well as a long list of subscribers in the colonies. This American edition is uncommon in commerce. HUNTRESS 50C. HILL 211. EVANS 7859. SABIN 9109. HILDEBURN 1519. NAIP w029694. BORBA DE MORAES, pp.133-35 (ref).
Price: $4,000.00