Books

First edition of Bligh's own full account of his voyage which led to the most famous mutiny in the history of the sea - "an extremely important book" (Hill); this copy in a smart, unrestored period binding from the choice library of Emily Mercer, Marchioness of Lansdowne (1819-1895), a granddaughter of Talleyrand; to her, Chopin dedicated his Boléro, Opus 19. In mid-1787 Bligh received the command of the Bounty, then being fitted to transport breadfruit and other plants from the South Seas to the West Indies, part of an elaborate scheme to establish large-scale cotton cultivation in the West Indies by transplanting breadfruit and other fruits and vegetables so that plantation owners might feed enslaved persons more cheaply. The Bounty reached Tahiti, loaded up with breadfruit, and set sail again at the beginning of April 1789. In the early morning of 28 April 1789, when off the island of Tonga, Fletcher Christian led part of the crew in mutiny. The rebels set Bligh and 18 men adrift in the ship's 23-foot-long launch, with little food and only minimal navigational tools. Incredibly Bligh managed to reach Kupang in Timor two months later with the loss of only one man, after a harrowing 3,500-mile voyage. Embarrassingly, Bligh found himself having to defend his own conduct. He had already published a shorter Narrative of the Mutiny in 1790. The Advertisement to this work explains that "the reason of the Narrative appearing first, was for the purpose of communicating early information concerning an event which attracted the public notice: and being drawn up in a hasty manner, it required many corrections". This is the first appearance of Bligh's account of the entire expedition; the "extended and revised text makes this the fundamental published account of the Bounty saga" (Parks Collection). However, publication did not achieve his aim of rehabilitating his reputation, which was later further damaged by another mutiny and other serious insubordinations. History's verdict has overwhelmingly been that Bligh was clearly a superior navigator and a brave man, but an abysmal leader otherwise. Interestingly, it was his habit of intemperate verbal abuse that upset his subordinates: research has shown that Bligh actually flogged less than any other British commander in the Pacific Ocean in the later 18th century. READ MORE Quarto (299 x 231 mm). Contemporary calf, spine with five low raised bands, gilt single fillets, compartments with central foliate motif in blind, a pale brown label, sides with frames of gilt single fillet and blind anthemion roll, blind edge roll, brown speckled edges. Housed in a custom greyish-brown cloth slipcase. Stipple-engraved oval portrait frontispiece of Bligh by Condé after John Russell, folding plan of the Bounty, folding plan of the Bounty's launch, plate of a breadfruit, and 4 plans and charts (3 folding). Touch of sunning to spine and front cover, a little wear to corners, offsetting from frontispiece to title page and from plates to text (as often), scattered foxing and finger soiling, an old stain to the lower margin of E3v, chart at p. 179 skillfully strengthened at fold and small hole in a blank area neatly repaired. A very good copy. ESTC T52638; Ferguson 125; Hill 135; Howgego, I, B107; NMM, Voyages & Travel, 624; The Parks Collection of Captain William Bligh, 12; Sabin 5910; Spence 104.

An account of Lieutenant William Bligh's journey and experiences leading up to the infamous Bounty mutiny.