Description:
FIRST EDITION, engraved frontispiece and 25 engraved plates, most by J. Basire after W. Jett and J. Nicholls., title in red and black, woodcut device, contemporary speckled calf, twice ruled in gilt, spine gilt with fleurons, red morocco label, hinges and cornes expertly repaired, last two leaves repaired, folio, London, for J. Janeway, 1734FIRST EDITION OF THIS FAMOUS COMPILATION, uniting the most notorious names in the early eighteenth-century underworld. It consists of selections from two works, Alexander Smith's History of the Lives of the Most Noted Highway-men and Captain Charles Johnson's own General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. Captain Johnson is attributed with creating the modern conception of pirates. He provided a sweeping account of what came to be called the Golden Age of Piracy. He gave an almost mythical status to the more colourful pirates such as Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, 'Calico' Jack Rackham, and the female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny.… Read More