Lot 246: HALL, Basil (1788-1844). Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Correa, and the Great Loo-Choo Island . London: John Murray, 1818.

HALL, Basil (1788-1844). Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Correa, and the Great Loo-Choo Island . London: John Murray, 1818. 4 o (272 x 212 mm). 8 hand-colored aquatint plates by William Havell, one uncolored aquatint, 5 engraved maps (2 folding) and one engraved plate (some occasional offsetting). (Lacking half-title.) Contemporary half morocco, marbled boards, spine gilt (some rubbing to boards, some light wear at joints and extremities). Provenance : Right Honorable Baron Inchiquin (armorial bookplate). FIRST EDITION. Hall sailed on the Lyra to China in company with the frigate Alceste and Lord Amherst's embassy. After landing in China, Hall went on to explore the East China and Yellow Seas and visited Canton. His narrative includes his observations of the people and culture, as well as a vocabulary of the Loochoo language and an appendix containing charts and nautical notices. On his return journey, he had an interview at St. Helena with Napoleon, who had known his father, Sir James Hall, when the two were school mates, and describes his meeting in later editions. It was Captain Hall with whom Sir Walter Scott sailed in search of health just before Scott's death. Abbey Travel 558; Cordier Sinica 3009.