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BLIGH, Lieutenant William.
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.
First edition of Bligh's personal account of "one of the most remarkable incidents in the whole of maritime history", published two years before his full official version of the voyage and the mutiny in an effort to influence opinion in his favour, absolving him "from any blame that might be levelled against him because of the incident" (Hill). The story of Fletcher Christian's mutinous commandeering of the Bounty, and the setting adrift of Bligh and his 18 loyal crewmen on a 23-foot launch is a tale known to all. But "what is not so well known is that in the course of this hazardous journey Bligh took the opportunity to chart and name parts of the unknown north-east coast of New Holland as he passed along it - an extraordinary feat of seamanship" (Wantrup). Despite the film-fuelled condescension of posterity, it should be remembered that Bligh's skill as a navigator and his courage as a seaman ensured his continued employment by the Admiralty, led to his election to the Royal Society, and to his appointment as governor of New South Wales.
Quarto (288 × 230 mm) Later speckled calf, black morocco labels, panel of French fillet gilt to the boards, spine gilt in compartments with repeated wavy line tools. Neatly rebacked with the original labels laid on. With the folding engraved plan "A Copy of the Draught from which the Bounty's Launch was built" by Mackenzie, and 3 folding engraved charts by J. Walker after W. Harrison, one of them printed on pale blue paper. Lengthy folding track-chart which is bound as the frontispiece with some professional repairs at the folds, slightly toned, light off-set from the plates, but overall a very good copy.
