Sturt, Charles

FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 8vo (222 x 136mm.), (vol.1) x, advert slip, iv, 416pp., 8+[ii]+[ii] pp. adverts; (vol.2) vi, advert slip, 308, 92pp., [ii]+8+[iv] pp. adverts, 1 folding map, 16 plates [4 coloured lithographs, 2 tinted aquatints and 10 plain engravings], illustrations, some spotting or offsetting to some plates

ARROWSMITH, JOHN. Map of Captn. Sturt's Route from Adelaide into the Centre of Australia. London, 1849, 738 x 875mm., folding map laid on publisher's linen in the original cloth folder, 2 green silk ties, centrefold tear repaired



together 3 volumes, bound in original blind-stamped green ribbed cloth, yellow endpapers, slipcase

From the library of the Duke of Wellington, pencil note in vol.1

Ferguson 5202 (noting the map); Wantrup 119

"The geographical results of Sturt's last expedition, the first into the heart of the continent, were significant. He determined the confluence of the Darling and the Murray, settled speculation about a vast inland sea, found no evidence of a large central river, and determined that there was no central dividing range. The expedition was also responsible for major discoveries, especially the discovery and exploration of Cooper's Creek, the Stony Desert, and Simpson Desert. For his labours in the cause of Australian discovery Sturt was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1847 and hailed as a national hero" (Wantrup).

The final advertisement in volume 1 is for Melville's Sketches in Australia, which according to Wantrup indicates that it is a first issue.