Skip to content

A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world... in the Discovery sloop of war, and armed tender Chatham, under the command of Captain George Vancouver by VANCOUVER, Captain George - 1798

by VANCOUVER, Captain George

Similar copies are shown below.
Similar copies are shown to the right.
A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world... in the Discovery sloop of war, and armed tender Chatham, under the command of Captain George Vancouver by VANCOUVER, Captain George - 1798

A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world... in the Discovery sloop of war, and armed tender Chatham, under the command of Captain George Vancouver

by VANCOUVER, Captain George

  • Used
G.G. and J. Robinson, 1798. A fine copy, with generous margins and the text leaves uncut.. Complete set, three volumes, quarto, with 18 engraved plates of views, the folio atlas with 16 large plates of charts and views; handsomely bound in quarter calf with speckled papered boards and vellum tips, spines gilt in compartments, old crimson labels.

First edition of this great voyage, "one of the most important ever made" (Hill), with a splendid series of charts. Cook would have approved of the accuracy of Vancouver's charting, which survived almost unchanged into modern times, and certainly Vancouver had learned the lessons of long voyages from his old captain, with only five men of a complement of 180 being lost in over four years at sea. But it is also true that by 1794 Vancouver was subject to wild mood swings and erratic behaviour which led to him being feared and sometimes mocked by his men (in modern times it has been argued that he was suffering from some form of hypothyroidism, possibly Grave's Disease). His health was ruined by the time they returned to England in 1795. Vancouver retired to Petersham to prepare this publication for the press, but in an eerie foreshadowing of the fate of his successor Flinders, died at age 40 while the account was nearing publication.

George Vancouver (1757-1798), got his early training as a midshipman and later Lieutenant on Cook's second and third voyages. After his return he spent most of the 1780s in West Indian waters, before being appointed, in 1791, to command of a major scientific expedition to focus on the northwest Pacific: the successes of Cook's voyages were very much in mind in the planning of this expedition, and it was no coincidence that Vancouver's new command was named Discovery, explicitly in honour of the vessel of that name that had sailed on Cook's third voyage. Vancouver sailed to the Pacific by way of Australia where, in 1791, he made landfall on the then largely unknown south-west coast and discovered and named King George III Sound (modern Albany). This was the first English visit to any part of the west coast since Dampier, whose poor reports had led to the neglect of that part of the continent. Indeed, the west was explicitly excluded from Governor Phillip's otherwise extensive realm, with the western boundary of his authority stopping at the famous "Pope's line", the line that still constitutes the inland border of Western Australia. Vancouver's discoveries in and charting of the south-west coast of Australia were of great importance; his chart of the "S.W. Coast of New Holland" is western Australia's equivalent of Cook's chart of Botany Bay.

After leaving the south-west coast, Vancouver unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Great Australian Bight, discovering and charting Point Hood on its western extremity. He then sailed past Van Diemen's Land into the Pacific, visiting New Zealand, Hawaii, and the Northwest coast of America. During the course of three seasons, he surveyed Alaska, the Northwest Coast, investigated the Straits of Juan de Fuca, discovered the Strait of Georgia, and circumnavigated Vancouver Island. He visited San Francisco, Monterey and other Spanish Settlements in Alta California, and made three visits to the Hawaiian Islands where he introduced cattle from Monterey. The expedition's storeship Daedalus sailed twice to Port Jackson, to deliver cattle and stores for the colony and despatches for Phillip - including Vancouver's charts of the south-west coast of Australia - and others for transmission back to London. Daedalus also collected such stores as were available at Port Jackson for the expedition. Vancouver also mentions that his ship was carrying breadfruit for planting at Norfolk Island.

. Provenance: Joseph Robertson Raines (1802-1884), with armorial bookplates; private collection (Sydney).
  • Bookseller Hordern House Rare Books AU (AU)
  • Book Condition Used - A fine copy, with generous margins and the text leaves uncut.
  • Quantity Available 1
  • Publisher G.G. and J. Robinson
  • Date Published 1798

We have 4 copies available starting at £3,542.40.

A Voyage Of Discovery To The North Pacific Ocean, And Round The World; In Which The Coast Of...
More Photos

Show Details

Description:
London: For G. G. And J. Robinson, And J. Edwards, 1798. Book. Very Good. Full-Leather. 1st Edition. Three Volumes, 4To. Full Calf, Spine Lettered In Gilt On Black Labels. Exterior Edges Decorated In Gilt, Interior Edges In Blind. Half-Title Leaf Present In Volumes One And Three. Marbled End Papers. Eighteen Engraved Plates Present As Called For ( One Is A Map ). The Separate Folio Atlas Volume Is Not Present. Modest Wear To Edges And Joints, Rubbing To Calf On Spines, Upper Hinge Of Volume 2 Cracked But Still Holding. A Sound, Very Good Set. Small Oval Library Stamps ( From Hachette ) On Titles. Some Plates Have Onion Skins Present, Most Plates Show Some Foxing And Offsetting To Adjacent Pages. Bookplates In All Volumes (That In Vol. One Is On The Rear End Paper, Inverted. From The Library Of William C. Merston, Who Built And Lived In The Oak Bay Beach Hotel In Victoria, Bc. The Bookplates Depict A View Of Mount Baker, Through The Window Of His Study In The Hotel..
Item Price
£3,542.40
A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World - 6 volume set
More Photos

A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World - 6 volume set

by Captain George Vancouver

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
No Jacket
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Berkeley, California, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4,015.00

Show Details

Description:
London: Stockdale, 1801. Hardcover. Good/No Jacket. Leather. All charts and plates present. 'A New Edition, with corrections, illustrated with nineteen views and charts.' Edges of boards and spine are rubbed. Boards of vols 2-5 are detached but contained. Front board of vol 6 is completely detached and back board is detached but contained. Previous owner's bookplate on front end leaf of each vol. Bottom edge of spine is chipped on vols 2 and 5. A few pages in each vol have mild foxing. Outer edges of pages are soiled and tanned.
Item Price
£4,015.00
A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World; in Which the Coast of...
More Photos

Show Details

Description:
London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1801. Undetermined. very good. 1st Octavo edition. 410; 418; 435; 417; 454; 412; (2)pp. Octavo (14 X 21 cm.) 6 volumes. Bound in 19th century half calf and paper covered boards. All of the board edges have been reinforced with vellum when the binding was done. Volume one has been rebacked to match the rest of the set. Red leather labels. The contents are generally clean with some general soiling throughout. The plates have moderate foxing mainly to the edges. External joints a bit tender on the odd volume but not really a problem. A New edition, with Corrections. Seventeen folding plates and two folding maps with the large folding map housed in a custom slip case to match the rest of the set. The large folding maps has been backed with linen at an early date. The back of the linen has been heavily stained but the front image is good. very good Hill p.304. One of the most important voyages made in the interests of geographical knowledge. Vancouver who had… Read More
Item Price
£5,608.80
No image available

Show Details

Description:
London: G.G. and J. Robinson; and J. Edwards, 1798. First edition. 4to. 28.5 x 22.5 cm. Three volumes, with 17 engraved plates and a chart, plus folio atlas containing 16 large plates. (432 text pages and 7 plates in Volume 1; 504 text pages, 4 plates and a chart in Volume II, 508 text pages, 6 plates in Volume III,) Bound in period style calf, spines elaborately tooled. Mild browning and spotting, mostly confined to the beginning of Vol I, usual offsetting to text pages from facing plates. Forbes 298; Hill 1753.
Item Price
£28,105.00