antiquarian bookseller - Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington Antiquarian Bookseller
17. OSBORNE, Thomas
(publisher).
1
A Collection of Voyages and Travels,
consisting of Authentic Writers in
our own Tongue, which have not
before been collected in English, or
have only been abridged in other
Collections. And continued with
others of Note, that have published
Histories, Voyages, Travels, Journals
or Discoveries in other Nations and
Languages relating to any Part of the
Continent of Asia, Africa, America,
Europe, or the Islands thereof, from
the Earliest Account to the Present
Time... With a Great Variety of Cuts,
Prospects, Ruins, Maps, and Charts.
Compiled from the Curious and
Valuable Library of the Late Earl of
Oxford.
London, Thomas Osborne, 1745 [17741] £5500
2 volumes, folio (370 × 242 mm). Full sprinkled calf, rebacked,
red morocco label to the spine. Engraved frontispiece of
costume and 15 other engraved plates, 4 of them double-page
or folding, 37 engraved maps by Herman Moll of which 10 are
double-page or folding, folding printed table and a few small
illustrations to the text. Later engraved bookplate of Richard
Hungerford Pollen to the front pastedowns and his signed
“è bibliotheca Hungerfordiana” inscription to the endleaves.
Light browning, occasional offsetting, a few marginal tears,
no loss of text, externally a little rubbed, but overall a very
good set.
FIRST EDITION of this important collection of voyages,
“A necessary accompaniment to Churchill’s ‘Collection’ all
the works being different... They are familiarly known
as the ‘Oxford Collection’, but are also sometimes called
the ‘Harleian Collection of Voyages and Travels,’ and
include on America, Galvano’s ‘Discoveries’ by Hakluyt,
Drake’s ‘World Encompassed,’ Dunton’s ‘Journal,’ Le Maire’s
Catalogue 57: Travel Section 1 ~ World Voyages and Compilations
‘Canaries,’ Castell’s ‘America,’ De Mont’s ‘Nova Francia,’
Warren’s ‘Surinam,’ etc.” Maps accompanying these
include New England, Louisiana, Mexico and California
and Newfoundland. Other pieces include a number of
Barbary captivity narratives, Bishop Ussher on Asia,
and a series of relations on transactions at Amboyna.
Edward Harley, second Earl of Oxford, was an assiduous
collector and patron of the arts. After his death his library,
including about 50,000 printed books, 41,000 prints, and
350,000 pamphlets, were bought... by Thomas Osborne,
the bookseller of Gray’s Inn, for £13,000 (DNB).
Sabin 57765; NMM I, 35.
The Oxford
collection,
the necessary
complement
to Churchill’s
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