Antique Maps & Prints of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 4630:
Description
Included in this lot:
Chart of the Trade Winds of the Pacific Ocean with part of Asia, New Holland (Australia), & Americas
Chart of the Trade Winds of the South Atlantic Ocean and India Ocean with part of South America, Africa, & Asia
Description of the work:
This historic engraving is from William Dampier’s
A New Voyage Round the World. Describing particularly, the Isthmus of America… or
Nouveau Voyage Autour du Monde. The work was published in London between 1703 & 1705 by James Knapton. This work describing Dampier’s voyages is celebrated as one of the greatest exploration and adventure tales written.
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)
"Of the famous group of buccaneers that tormented the Spaniards in the ‘South Sea’ from 1680 to 1720, Dampier was the best known and probably the most intelligent. His industry in taking careful notes of everything he saw was equaled by his assiduous pains in preserving them from destruction. (…) Concerning the problem of Australia being a continent, Dampier says that ‘It is not yet determined whether it is an Island or a Main Continent; but I am certain that it joyns neither to Asia, Africa, nor America.’ It is evident that on his first visit he knew nothing of what Tasman had discovered; but on his second expedition he used one of Tasman’s charts." (Cox)
Paper Size: ~ 13" by 6 3/8" (Fold Out) & ~ 12 1/4" by 6 3/8" (Fold Out)
Paper Type or Special Features: Engraving
Condition report:
The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be some faint offset due to the fold out nature of the plates to this work. There may be a few minor marks or imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
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