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A Voyage to the South Seas, in the Years 1740-1. Containing a Faithful Narrative of the Loss of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager on A Desolate Island…
London: Printed for Jacob Robinson, 1743. 8vo (8” x 5.25”), bound to style in recent full brown calf, raised bands, gilt rules, author and title labels at spine. xx, 220 pp. Bookplate of William D. Claflin Jr. laid-in. Early ownership inscription at p. [iii] of “Samuel[?] Fourier.”. The first edition of this captivating narrative of a harrowing voyage through the Straits of Magellan to Rio de Janeiro following a shipwreck off the coast of Chile. Part of George Anson’s fleet and commanded by Capt. Cheap, the Wager was en route to harass the Spanish when it was wrecked off the southern coast of Chile after rounding Cape Horn. Following the wreck, gunner John Bulkeley and carpenter John Cummins led a small group of survivors—who refused to accompany Cheap and others northward—back through the Straits of Magellan in a longboat. After arriving safely in Rio de Janeiro the men finally returned to England—thus concluding a voyage of almost two years. Bulkeley and Cummins’ narrative is especially remarkable for its description of the travails they endured while passing through the Strait of Magellan. A principal source on the wreck of the Wager, this work is also an important supplement to the Anson accounts. Two editions were published in 1743: the first, here, published by Jacob Robinson; the other, published by J. Twig, omitting the authors’ names. CONDITION: Light chipping at margins of title-page and p. 1. REFERENCES: Hill 210.
Item #5719
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