THE PRINCIPAL NAVIGATIONS, VOYAGES, TRAFFIQUES AND DISCOVERIES OF THE OF THE ENGLISH NATION

London: [Printed by] George Bishop, Ralph Newberie and Robert Barker, 1599-1600. Second Edition, Second State (title page with "yeres" instead of "years" and no mention of the Cadiz victory) of first two volumes; FIRST EDITION of third volume. 282 x 190 mm. (11 1/8 x 7 1/2"). Vol. I with the suppressed section on the 1596 Voyage to Cadiz present as a reprint issued ca. 1720 (per ESTC), pages numbered 607-20. Three volumes..
Excellent blind-tooled diced russia, ca. 1800, expertly and attractively rebacked with matching calf, raised bands, spine panels gilt with central patera, gilt lettering, with author's name spelled "Hacklyt, marbled endpapers, leather hinges, edges speckled. Without the map in volume III, as usual. Church 322; Hill Collection, p. 131-32; Pforzheimer 443; PMM 105 (for the first edition of 1589); Sabin 29595; STC 12626; ESTC S106744. Extremities with very minor rubbing, hinge exposed after **2 (but everything tight), text washed and pressed (with title pages rather limp and gray), first quire of volume I and first two leaves of second quire tipped onto front flyleaf, titles and other early leaves with well-executed repair at gutter (no loss of text), intermittent browning due to paper quality, more pronounced on a dozen or so quires, occasional ink stains or small paper repairs, (repair to final leaf of second volume affecting parts of perhaps a half dozen words of text on each side), a score of openings with chalk-like residue. The text not without issues, but a voluminous work that has still held up well under use, and the sturdy restored binding making an attractive appearance on the shelf.

This is the "definitive edition," in Hill's words, of "the most complete collection of voyages and discoveries, by land as well as by sea, and of the nautical achievements of the Elizabethans." First printed in 1789, and expanded here to more than 1,700,000 words, "Principal Navigations" records some of the most significant voyages of the age--including Drake's circumnavigation of the world--and encourages further adventures, especially in service of the expansion of British maritime enterprise and the establishment of colonies in the New World. It was admired by Hakluyt's contemporaries and remains relevant today: according to Britannica, "its scholarship and comprehensiveness transcended all geographical literature to date," and DNB notes that it "continues to be an invaluable source for narratives not otherwise preserved." Sabin says simply that "it is difficult to overrate the importance and value of this extraordinary collection of voyages." Fascinated by geography and mariners from childhood, Hakluyt (1552? - 1616) began while a student at Oxford to collect and read all the extant accounts of voyages he could find. He translated many reports into English himself, sought out the acquaintance of explorers like Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh, and corresponded with Continental geographers Abraham Ortelius and Gerardus Mercator. "Principal Navigations" is notable for Hakluyt's obsession with accuracy, his insistence on first-hand accounts, and his careful and logical organization of the contents into three parts by geographical region. The work begins with English travels to India, the Levant, and Southeast Asia, then turns to Africa, including Egypt and the Cape of Good Hope. The second section looks to the areas north and northeast of Britain: Lapland, Russia, the Caspian Sea region, and Tartary. The third and final part is concerned with Hakluyt's great enthusiasm: "the English valiant attempts in searching almost all the corners of the vaste and new world of America." An addition to our second edition is an account of the English navy's victory, led by the Earl of Essex, over the Spanish Armada at Cadiz. This portion of 14 pages in vol. I was removed in 1599, when Essex fell out of favor with Elizabeth, and is not infrequently missing (even in copies selling for very substantial sums). As is infrequently the case, this censored text has been restored to our copy in the form of a reprint issued ca. 1720. As usual, the Molyneux-Wright world map is lacking from our set. According to Pforzheimer, "it is generally allowed that the map which belongs in that third volume, only occasionally found, was not issued with all copies." Auction records indicate that this map is indeed scarce: we could find only one set with it present, that copy selling in 2021 for £448,950. Hakluyt's great work is not a rare book, but to be able to obtain the present copy--attractively and uniformly bound, entirely complete, and in appealing condition--for the price asked represents an uncommon opportunity..