4 volumes. [10], vi, 550 + [4] ad]; [8], 184, 132, [4], 112, [74]; [16], 463 [i.e. 475], [9]; [16], 208, [8], 175, [9] pp. With 63 copper-engraved maps, charts and plates, some folding. (8vo) 19.5x12 cm. ( 7¾x4¾"), period mottled calf ruled in gilt.
A collected edition, with additions, of Dampier's voyages, previously published in separate volumes from 1697 to 1709. As Hill relates, in describing the earlier editions, "Dampier was the best known, and probably the most intelligent, of a famous group of buccaneers that tormented the Spaniards in the South Sea from 1680 to 1720. His industry in taking notes of all he saw was equaled by his pains in preserving them from destruction. His first voyage, under Captain Swan in the Cygnet, took him from Virginia to Spanish America and across the Pacific to the East Indies… Dampier’s voyage in 1699 was the second expedition of the English to Australia, and he notes ‘It is not yet determined whether it is an island or a main continent; but I am certain that it joyns neither Asia, Africa, nor America.’” Hill says that this 1729 edition "is considered by many to be the best edition... it includes the narratives of Lionel Wafer and William Funnell as well as the whole book of William Hacke. Dampier objected to the inclusion of Funnell's account because it reflected badly upon himself, but his publisher disregarded these objections. Dampier's accounts show him to have been a careful observer of everything affecting navigation and of the natural history of the lands he visited... Through his writings, Dampier made know the profitable possibilities of the Pacific." The plates and maps, 63 in number, include two maps of the world with California depicted as an island (one on Mercator's projection and one a double-hemisphere), plus important early charts of the lands and islands visited, charts of the Pacific Ocean with the winds and currents shown, etc. Also, the flora, fauna, and indigenous inhabitants of the various regions, views of the landscapes, harbors, peaks, profiles, and more. This copy without the portrait sometimes called for, but its inclusion seems sporadic, and many copies are similarly deficient. Hill 422; Sabin 18373. Each volume with the armorial bookplate of Sir Abraham Hume, Bart., to the front pastedown, and the old ink ownership signature of Robt. Allen to the front flyleaf. Provenance: A private family collection in the California gold country.