Collins, Greenville

Folio (500 x 350mm.), letterpress title with contents list, 19 double-page engraved charts, contemporary French red morocco gilt, arms gilt of Cesar Henri, Comte de La Luzerne on covers, within triple gilt fillet borders, spine gilt in compartments with floral motifs, green morocco label, blue endpapers

Cesar Henri Comte de la Luzerne, (1737-1799), Secretary of State for the French Navy from 1787 to 1790, arms and bookplate

Shirley BL, M.BELL-4a; Coolie Verner, “Captain Collins’s Coasting Pilot”, Map Collectors Series, 58 (1969)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A RARE FRENCH EDITION IN FULL RED MOROCCO. Greenville Collins’ work was not only the first systematic survey of British coastal waters, but also the first marine atlas of these waters engraved and printed in London from original surveys. Before its appearance, English sailors relied on often out-dated Dutch materials. The survey was carried out between 1681 and 1688, beginning with the south coast, and covering all of the British coasts except western Ireland and western Scotland. Although the complete atlas appeared in 1693, some charts had been available for sale as separate sheets sometime between 1689 and 1693.

While the atlas proved popular, a subsequent edition was not published until 1723, by which time the plates and text had been acquired by the firm of Mount and Page. The firm would go onto publish some twenty editions between 1723 and 1793, with little or no revision to the charts.

Even though the charts were some sixty years old by the middle of the eighteenth century, they were still highly regarded enough for the hydrographer to the French king, Jacques Nicolas Bellin, to publish a French edition of the pilot in 1757, no doubt to assist with France's planned invasion of Great Britain during the Seven Years War. The work was based upon the 1723 edition, with Bellin copying nineteen of the charts, which cover the major ports of the south coast, Bristol, several ports in Wales, Ireland including Cork, and the approaches to Edinburgh.