Vancouver, George

6 volumes, 8vo (8 x 5 1/4 in.; 210 x 130 mm). Large engraved folding map, 17 folding engraved plates and 1 folding engraved chart.  The large engraved map linen-backed and housed in a pocket in the rear of vol. 1 2pp. publisher's ads in rear of vol. 6; some scattered foxing, Japanese tissue repairs to edges and minor closed tears to the folding plates. 20th century half crushed brown morocco over marbled paper covered boards, spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt.

Ferguson 339; Forbes I,335; Hill (2004) 1754; cf. Howes V-23; Judd 179; O'Reilly & Reitman 636; Sabin 98444; Wantrup 63b.

Rare first octavo edition of the description of "one of the most important [voyages] ever made in the interests of geographical knowledge" (Hill).

This first octavo edition is now almost as rare as the first edition, and has the advantage of including the definitive, corrected version of the text. The account was completed by George Vancouver's brother John, assisted by Captain Peter Puget, George having died before the work was finished. Vancouver's account of his voyage was first published in 1798 in 4 volumes (3 volumes of quarto text and 1 folio atlas volume). The text contained 1 engraved chart and 17 engraved plates, the atlas volume 10 folding engraved charts and 6 engraved plates of coastal profiles. For the present octavo edition, corrections were made to the text, and all 17 plates from the text volumes were reprinted using the original printing plates. There are only two folding charts included because the printing plates for the chart from the first edition text volumes, and the charts and plates in the first edition atlas were lost, and the decision was made to re-engrave only two charts.