P. Dillon | Narrative and Successful Result of a Voyage in the South Seas..., 1829, 2 vols, modern brown morocco gilt

From the Library of Clayre and Jay Michael Haft

Peter Dillon

Narrative and Successful Result of a Voyage in the South Seas, Performed by Order of the Government of British India, to ascertain the actual Fate of La Perouse's Expedition, interspersed with Accounts of the Religion, Manners, Customs, and Cannibal Practices of the South Sea Islanders London: Hurst, Chance, and Co., 1829

FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 8vo (211 x 134mm.), 3 lithographed plates (one hand-coloured), one folding map, modern brown morocco gilt, browning at extremities

This voyage finally solved the mystery of the disappearance of La Perouse in 1788. Dillon travelled frequently in connection with the sandalwood trade and in 1813 his crew was attacked in the Fiji Islands. A number were killed but when Dillon revisited Tikopia in 1826 he found two survivors who had come across artefacts belonging to La Perouse. Dillon reported this to the Bengal government and was sent to investigate, eventually finding evidence of the lost ships on reefs of Santa Cruz.

LITERATURE:

Abbey, Travel 598; Ferguson 1255; Hill (2004) 480