16 - ANSON, George, and WALTER, Richard. Voyage Around the World, Undertaken in the Years MDCCXL, Volumes I, II, III, IV, [...] in the South Sea. Drawn from the Journals & Other Papers of the said Lord, & published by Richard Walter, Master of Arts & Chaplain to the Centurion on this expedition.

ANSON, George, and WALTER, Richard. Voyage Around the World, Undertaken in the Years MDCCXL, Volumes I, II, III, IV, [...] in the South Sea. Drawn from the Journals & Other Papers of the said Lord, & published by Richard Walter, Master of Arts & Chaplain to the Centurion on this expedition. A valuable collection, in first French editions and in uniform period bindings bearing the coat of arms of François-Guillaume Castanier d’Auriac, of these famous maritime accounts, the first of which is richly illustrated with 34 engraved plates. In Amsterdam and Leipzig, [glued-on label:] In Paris, at Charles-Antoine Jombert’s, 1749. In-4, fawn calfskin, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, title and volume number labels in red leather, triple gilt fillet framing the covers stamped with the gilt coat of arms of the Castanier d’Auriac family, double gilt fillet with notches, red edges. 4 unnumbered folios, XVI and 333 pp. Title vignette, banner at the head of the preface, and 34 plates, most of them fold-outs, including 3 large maps. Restored binding (caps, jaws, corners); front cover detached; rare foxing; a few foxed leaves (notably the last 3); lower corner of page 181 creased with a small tear. Plates IV and V are reversed. First French edition, translated by Élie de Joncourt, complete with its remarkable set of 34 intaglio-engraved plates, maps, and 3 large charts: “Map of the Southern Part of South America,” “Philippine Islands Channel”; “South Sea or Pacific Ocean.” Originally printed in Amsterdam by Arkstée and Merkus, our copy is a Parisian reprint by Charles-Antoine Jombert with his label pasted onto the title page. Undertaken between 1740 and 1744 in the midst of the war against Spain, British Admiral George Anson’s great voyage around the world remains one of the most famous maritime expeditions of the 18th century. Although the human adventure proved tragic (only 188 survivors out of nearly 2,000 men who set sail), the triumphant return of the ship *Le Centurion*, laden with the fabulous treasure from the Manila galleon, left a lasting impression. The text is published here by Richard Walter, chaplain aboard the Centurion, who compiled Anson’s logbooks and notes. The work is highly sought after for its crucial cartographic accuracy regarding South America, Patagonia, and the Pacific. Included as Volume II and bound identically is: Voyage to the South Sea, undertaken by several officers commanding the ship the Wager: To serve as a sequel to the Voyage of George Anson. Translated from the English. Lyon, Published by the Duplain Brothers, Booksellers, 1756. 2 unnumbered folios, XVI and 185 pp., XIII pp. (table of contents). Title vignette and an engraved headband. Binding slightly rubbed, also restored at the caps and joints. First edition of the French translation, by Abbé Rivers, of this supplement published in quarto format as a follow-up to Anson’s account. This volume recounts the shipwreck of H.M.S. Wager in 1741 off the coast of Chilean Patagonia. Drawing on the logbooks of surviving officers (Bulkeley, Cummins, Campbell), the text offers a gripping account of mutiny and survival, coupled with valuable observations on the indigenous peoples and the coasts of Brazil. [Brunet I, 304]. Engraved ex-libris bearing a coat of arms on the endpapers, surmounted by a count’s crown, the name of which has been scraped off. The two identically bound volumes bear the coat of arms of François-Guillaume Castanier d’Auriac (1702–1765), a counselor at the Parliament of Toulouse and later First President of the Grand Council (Olivier, pl. 1081). As the nephew of François Castanier, the extremely wealthy banker of the Compagnie des Indes, he inherited an immense fortune tied to the major maritime and colonial trade of the Age of Enlightenment.