A Narrative of the Mutiny, on Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; and the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, in the Ship's Boat. From Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies.
London: Printed for George Nicol, 1790. First edition. 4to. iv, 88 pp. Later dark brown half calf over marbled boards, spine with gilt rules and lettered to the compartments. A folding plate and 3 folding charts. One of the latter shaved to the neatline along the lower edge, all the plates with a little foxing and minor creasing, a very good copy overall. Bligh's account of the infamous mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty and his subsequent escape. An accomplished seaman, in 1776 Bligh had been appointed by James Cook as master of the Resolution as part of his third and final voyage. He gained promotion to the rank of lieutenant and several important commissions thereafter, and was given command of the Bounty in 1787 and set sail for the East Indies, tasked with bringing back breadfruits and other botanical samples to British colonies in the West Indies. After a sojourn in Tahiti the voyage resumed in April 1789, before the mutiny occurred a few weeks later. Just off the coast of Tonga Bligh was set adrift in a much smaller vessel with 18 men and a very small cache of provisions. Nonetheless, as a testament to his seafaring skills, Bligh navigated his way to Timor, a voyage of over 3000 miles, incurring the loss of only one man. Item #23952
Price: £6,250.00