antiquarian bookseller - Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington Antiquarian Bookseller
18. PURCHAS, Samuel.
1
Purchas his pilgrimage, or Relations
of the world and the religions
observed in al ages and places
discovered, from the Creation
unto this present. In foure parts.
This first contayneth a theologicall
and geographicall historie of Asia,
Africa, and America, with the ilands
adjacent. Declaring the ancient
religions before the Floud ... With
briefe descriptions of the countries,
nations, states, discoveries; private
and publike customes, and the most
remarkable rarities of nature, or
humane industrie, in the same. The
third edition, much enlarged with
additions through the whole worke.
London: by William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, 1617 [31204]
£2100
Small folio (287 × 188 mm) in sixes. Later, probably 18thcentury
reversed calf, covers with gilt and blind rules, skilfully
rebacked with original spine laid down, red morocco label,
lacks ties. Some rubbing, corners bumped, previous owner’s
neat ink notations on front endpapers. Very good.
Third edition of Purchas’s first published compilation
of travel literature, first published in 1613. By this time
Purchas had already become acquainted with Richard
Hakluyt, his great predecessor in the memorializing
of English travel narratives, who lent books and some
manuscripts for the expanded second edition, published
in 1614. A later edition was published in 1626. Despite
being published first, this volume is sometimes shelved
as a supplement to the four folio volumes of Hakluytus
Posthumus, or, Purchas his Pilgrimes (1624–5).
JCB II, pp. 106-06; Sabin 66679; STC 20506.
19. PURCHAS, Samuel.
Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas
His Pilgrimes Contayning a
History of the World in Sea Voyages
and Lande Travells by Englishmen
and others.
Glasgow, James MacLehose and Sons, 1905–7 [32916]
£6000
20 volumes, 8vo. Publisher’s quarter vellum, spines lettered
and decorated gilt, gilt medallions to front covers, blue cloth
sides, top edges gilt, others uncut. Folding plates, facsimiles,
etc. Endpapers slightly browned, one or two corners lightly
bumped, else a fine set.
Limited Edition, one of 100 copies only on hand-made
paper for sale in Great Britain and Ireland, an exact
reprint of the 1625 edition with modernised orthography,
references to the original pagination, and an improved
index.
20. RAYNAL, Guillaume
Thomas François.
A Philosophical and Political
History of the Settlements and
Trade of the Europeans in the
East and West Indies. Revised,
augmented, and published, in ten
volumes, by the Abbé Raynal. Newly
translated from the French, by J. O.
Justamond, F.R.S. with a new set of
maps, elegant engravings adapted
to the work, and a copious indes. In
six volumes.
Dublin: for John Exshaw and Luke White, 1784 [26592] £750
6 volumes, 8vo (200 × 125 mm). Contemporary sprinkled
calf, red and green labels, gilt urns in spine compartments.
Engraved frontispiece portrait, 7 plates and 4 folding maps
by Thomas Kitchin. Bookplates removed from pastedowns,
attractive red inkstamps of J. Biggs to titles. Rubbed, joints of
vol. I skilfully repaired, minor worming to four volumes not
affecting text, still a handsome set.
A later Dublin printing; the first English translation
appeared in 1776 in both London and Dublin. An
influential work, a significant portion of which is said
to have been written by Diderot and others. The book
was condemned by the French Parliament and church
dignitaries because of its attacks on the clergy and on
Europeans generally for their conduct towards the natives
of the Indies. “The work is very comprehensive in its scope:
it relates to trade in the Persian Gulf and with Arabia and
India; the conquests of the Portuguese and Dutch in the
East Indies and Asia; Spanish conquests in the Americas
and the West Indies; the Portuguese conquest of Brazil;
and the English and French colonies in North America”
(Hill). John Obadiah Justamond (1737–1786), surgeon
and translator, was librarian at the British Museum at the
time he translated this work.
Cf. Hill 1428 & Sabin 68087.
21. SLOCUM, Captain
Joshua.
Sailing alone around the World.
Illustrated by Thomas Fogarty and
George Varian.
New York, The Century Co., 1901 [39040] SOLD
8vo. Original mid-blue decorative cloth, blocking in green and
silver. Frontispiece and numerous other illustrations, some
full-page. A little browned, hinges cracking and consequently
mildly shaken, but overall a very good copy, the cloth slightly
rubbed, spine tanned and chipping head and tail.
22. WILKES, Charles.
Narrative of the United States
Exploring Expedition, during the
Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842
… With Illustrations and Maps. In
Five Volumes.
Philadelphia, Lea and Blanchard, 1845 [30128] £1200
5 volumes, medium 8vo. Original publisher’s brown vertical
fine-ribbed cloth, American arms in gilt on front cover and
in blind on rear cover, spines blindstamped, lettered gilt and
with large gilt anchor at foot. 11 maps, 10 folding, nearly 300
woodcut illustrations in text including numerous examples
Catalogue 57: Travel Section 1 ~ World Voyages and Compilations
of native (principally South Seas) music and sketch maps;
tables and appendices, general index at end. Contemporary
ownership inscriptions on front pastedowns. Spines a little
worn at head and foot, corners bumped and one corner worn,
some marking to sides, small amount of worm to lower outer
corner of first few leaves of vol. 2 not affecting text, a good set
in unrestored original condition.
Third Edition overall. In smaller format than the imperial
octavo edition of the same year, this edition was reprinted
from stereos of that edition but without the plates or
accompanying atlas and with 47 woodcuts substituted
for the steel vignettes. The text is complete, with no
abridgement; the edition was 3000 copies. Wilkes’s
expedition explored the American Pacific coasts, the
islands of the South Pacific and Antarctica, marking an
important step in the growth of American self-reliance.
Until this date, the American navy was still using British
maps. As originally conceived in 1828, the expedition
was merely intended to promote commerce and protect
American investments in the whaling and sealing
industries in the South Seas. By the time the expedition set
off in 1836, its crew augmented with a body of scientists
and draughtsmen including Titian Ramsey Peale, Horatio
Hale, James Drayton and Alfred Agate (but not Nathaniel
Hawthorne who had applied but been turned down), it
had acquired the additional desire “to extend the bounds
of science, and promote the acquisition of knowledge”.
Among the expedition’s numerous accomplishments were
the first rigorous survey of Antarctica, the best map of the
California coast to date, a collection of 50,000 plant and
animal samples, 5,000 anthropological samples (including
clothing and pottery), and one of the finest collections of
coral samples in the world, now at the Smithsonian.
Haskell 3; Renard 1698.
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