a landmark of eighteenth-century English circumnavigation

Anson's voyage recounts the expedition made to cut off Spanish supplies of wealth from South America after the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain in 1739. Anson succeeded in this by taking a number of prize ships off the Philippines, but at a heavy cost, losing six ships wrecked off the coast of South America or in rounding Cape Horn. Anson's voyage laid the groundwork for the British voyages of exploration in the Pacific of the later half of the eighteenth century and Richard Walter produced a masterpiece of descriptive travel that became the most popular book of maritime adventure of the time.

Twelfth edition; 4to, large paper copy (30 x 23.5 cm); 42 copper-plates (mostly folding), contemporary sprinkled calf, red morocco label, neat repairs to joints and extremities, couple of scuff marks to covers, red edges, a very good clean copy; [20], 417 pp.

Cf. Hill 1817; BdM I, 38; Sabin 1625 for first edition.