Antique Prints, Maps, & Books of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 70227:
Description
This first edition volume is William Funnell’s
A Voyage Round the World. Containing an Account of Captain Dampier’s Expedition Into the South-Seas in the Ship St. George, In the Years 1703 and 1704… The work was printed in 1707 in London by W. Botham, for James Knapton.
The volume is bound in full calf with five raised bands at the spine. It includes 15 engravings of maps and natural history subjects. The work detailed Dampier’s adventures in Mexico, Brazil, Cape Horn, Chili, and Peru.
William Funnell, the author, served as Dampier’s first mate on this voyage. He gave first hand accounts of all of the encounters on this voyage which circumnavigated the globe. Dampier was mutinied and marooned at Amapalla Bay, with Funnell completing the voyage and this rare and valuable account of it.
"It was Funnell, not Dampier, who really circumnavigated the globe on this voyage, as Dampier proceeded only as far as the South Seas. The purpose of the expedition was to harass the Spaniards and take plunder from vessels and towns in South America. Its failure was due to the differences that arose between them. Funnell arrived in England before Dampier and seized the opportunity to compose a relation of his voyage: a task for which he was poorly qualified. His narrative contained much that was disapproved of by Dampier, who immediately after published a Vindication of his voyage, pointing out the misrepresentations of Funnell." (Hill)
William Dampier (1651-1715) was born in England and was orphaned. He set out in 1679 and took to the seas as a pirate and sea captain before returning in 1691. He is noted as the first man to circumnavigate the world three times. He was also the first Englishman to explore parts of New Holland (Australia) and New Guinea. He’s believed to have been the first Englishman to step on the Australian mainland.
"William Dampier combined a swashbuckling life of adventure with pioneering scientific achievements. In 1676, he started his career as a buccaneer preying on ships on the Spanish Main and struggling through the impenetrable jungle of the Isthmus of Panama in search of gold. He could easily have ended up on the gallows. Poor and obscure yet determined to sail the world to make his fortune, he was to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe three times. Among his many extraordinary achievements, Dampier mapped the winds and the currents of the world’s oceans for the first time. He inspired Darwin one hundred and fifty years later with his notes on the wildlife of the Galapagos islands and elsewhere. His portrait in London’s National Portrait Gallery shows a lean, strong-featured man with a thoughtful expression, brown shoulder-length hair and a plain coat, holding a book in his hand. He is styled ‘Pirate and Hydrographer’ but even that tells only part of his story. He was a pioneering navigator, naturalist, travel writer and explorer, as well as hydrographer who was, indeed, quite happy to seek his fortune as a pirate." (Preston)
Paper Size: ~ 7 1/2" by 4 3/4"
Paper Type or Special Features: Volume with 15 Maps & Natural History Engravings
Condition report:
The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or faint marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
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