PBA Galleries

[4], 186, [2] pp. With 3 engraved plates. 20x12 cm (8x4¾"), period calf, rebacked with modern calf, title page and frontispiece reattached. First Edition.

Rare account of the circumnavigation of the British squadron under the command of John Byron, anonymously written but generally accepted as being written by Charles Clerke, who was later to sail on all three of James Cook's Pacific voyages. John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron, left Plymouth on the "Dolphin" in July 1764 and sailed via Rio de Janeiro and the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific to make discoveries in the South Seas. He "returned to England without losing one member of his crew, a rare event in those days. It is interesting to note that this narrative does not indicate the position of the newly discovered lands. These are left blank in the text in order to prevent other nations claiming the territory. This account ... became famous because of its description of the Patagonian giants" (Borba de Moraes).

Provenance: F. Moore, 2/98

A color plate from another book showing a Fuegean and a Patagonian laid in.

References: Borba de Moraes p.138; Hill (2004) 311; Sabin 9732