Hakluyt, Richard

3 volumes in 2, folio (281 x 182mm.), text in gothic, roman, and italic type, woodcut historiated and decorative initials and head- and tailpieces, woodcut devices and frames on title-pages, manuscript annotations on title page of volume 3 and occasionally in the text, nineteenth-century calf decorated in blind, spines gilt in six compartments with restored lettering and labels, red edges, lacking the world map as usual, some slight staining at the beginning and ends, some repairs and restoration to final gatherings at the end of the second volume, title page to volume 3 cut down and mounted (with loss to margins, just affecting very top of woodcut ornament), [PI]2 and [PI]3 in same volume with repairs to margins, small tears and holes to 2K2-4 in volume 1 (partially repaired, affecting a few letters, chiefly in headlines), 3F2 slightly short and repaired or restored at lower margin (possibly partially or wholly supplied from another copy), a few other marginal tears, headlines sometimes cut close towards the end of volume 2, covers and extremities slightly scuffed and rubbed

Isaac Davis, early signatures in volume 1; William O'Brien, bequest booklabel dated 1899 in volume 1

Borba de Moraes 1:391; Church 322; European Americana 598/42, 599/45, 600/51; Parker 161 passim; PMM 105; Sabin 29595, 25597, 29598; STC 12626

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing unless otherwise stated
"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."

Second edition, first issue of volume 1, with the 1598 title-page, the reference to the "famous victorie atchieved at the Citie of Cadiz, 1596" and with the "Voyage to Cadiz" section at 3E4-3F4 (pp.607-617). The report of this expedition was suppressed entirely in the second issue of the first volume the following year because the Earl of Essex was then in disgrace at the court of Elizabeth I. The world map which is occasionally found in the third volume (and which is absent here, as usual) was probably not issued in all copies.

This second edition is much expanded compared with the first edition of 1589 and can even be called "an entirely new work" (Parker), with its scope widened to include non-English explorations, and the text increasing threefold. Hakluyt himself never travelled further afield than France, but he met or corresponded with many of the great explorers, navigators and cartographers including Drake, Raleigh, Gilbert, Frobisher, Ortelius and Mercator. In addition to long and significant descriptions of the Americas in volume 3, the work also contains accounts of Russia, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East, Persia, India, south-east Asia, and Africa. "It is difficult to overrate the importance and value of this extraordinary collection of voyages" (Sabin).