The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron (Commodore in a Late Expedition round the World) containing an Account of the Great Distresses Suffered by Himself and His Companions on the Coast of Patagonia, from the Year 1740, till their Arrival in England, 1746 with a Description of St Jago de Chili and the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants.

Descripción

257 pp. First edition; later 3/4 brown calf; top edge gilt; beige cloth boards; vertical engraved fp. (shipwreck of the Wager) with tissue guard. Internally pristine with incidental oxidation; otherwise very good. Hinges weak; tape repair tail of spine. Admiral Byron's narrative of the loss of the Wager is one of the most thrilling accounts in the language, and supplied his illustrious descendant with many particulars for the shipwreck in Don Juan' (Sabin). Byron, later a noted Pacific explorer in his own right, and eventually governor of Newfoundland, was known as "foul weather Jack"; he was a midshipman aboard the Wager and his narrative provides a notable supplement to the main account of Anson's voyage. Byron gives 'an account of pillaging, treachery, and murder by the crew, most of whom claimed that since their pay ceased the moment the ship was lost they were no longer subject to military discipline and it was every man for himself. It told of Byron's own living off the sea, without shelter or clothing, on the 'most unprofitable spot on the globe of the earth'; of his going without a full meal for thirteen months; of his living three years in the lands of the Spaniards and of his eventual return to England almost five years after the shipwreck' (R.E. Gallagher, Byron's Journal, Hakluyt Society, 1964). It was for this, Byron (and not for the poet as was long assumed) that Cook named Byron Bay on the north coast of New South Wales. . The wreck of the Wager led to major changes in British nautical law relating to shipwreck. "Admiral Byron's narrative is one of the most thrilling accounts in the language, and supplied his illustrious descendant [Lord Byron, the poet] with many particulars for the shipwreck in Don Juan." (Sabin) Cox II p. 281. Hill II pp. 366-67. Howgego B199. Huntress 78c. JCB I 1615. National Maritime Museum Cat. I 118. Palau 38233. Sabin 9730. N° de ref. del artículo 5902

Contactar al vendedor

Denunciar este artículo

Detalles bibliográficos