1813. · London
by Turnbull, John
London: A. Maxwell, 1813.. xv,516pp. Half title. Quarto. Modern three- quarter diced calf and marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands. Top margin of titlepage professionally replaced. Occasional minor foxing. Near fine. Second and best edition, after the first edition published in three volumes in 1805, here with considerable additions and alterations. The party sailed from Portsmouth in 1800 "intent on taking advantage of the lucrative fur trade on the northwest coast of America. Turnbull was the business manager of the expedition. Though the voyage was a financial failure, it did obtain interesting information about various South Sea islands, such as Norfolk Island, Tahiti, Hawaii, and the Tonga Islands, and made the discovery of the Margaret, Phillips, and Holt islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago" (Hill). Approximately half the volume is concerned with Tahiti. It also includes descriptions of Australia and various Pacific islands, with much on the natives, as well as an appendix (not found in the first edition) with details concerning New South Wales and a short account of New Zealand. HILL 1728, 1725. FERGUSON 570. FORBES 438.
(Inventory #: WRCAM37041)