Lot 63: BLIGH, WILLIAM. 1754-1817. A Voyage to the South S

BLIGH, WILLIAM. 1754-1817. A Voyage to the South Sea, Undertaken by Command of His Majesty.... London: for George Nicol, 1792. 4to (303x230mm). [10], 264 pp. Stipple-engraved frontispiece portrait and 7 engraved maps and plates, 4 of which are folding. 19th century half navy straight-grain morocco over contemporary boards, gilt spine emblems, custom cloth slipcase. A clean and wide-margined copy, light offset from plates, one folding plate with closed tears, a few stray spots, covers rubbed, shelfwear. Provenance: Sir John Smith, Baronet (bookplate and with his arms as gilt spine emblem). FIRST EDITION of the official account of the Bounty expedition. It includes a somewhat revised edition of the text of Bligh’s journal, but was written, edited and seen to press by James Burney under the supervision of Sir Joseph Banks during Bligh’s absence from London on his second breadfruit voyage. Hill notes: “One bit of irony is that Bligh returned to Tahiti again to get some more breadfruit, and, after delivering them to the West Indies, it was discovered that the natives did not much care for the taste, much preferring their own bananas.” Cox II p 305; Du Rietz 93; Ferguson 125; Hill p 27; Mendelssohn II 1117; Sabin 5910.