CLERKE, Charles.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

A Voyage round the World, First edition of the anonymously published Newbery account of Commodore John Byron's circumnavigation in HMS Dolphin, usually attributed to Charles Clerke, then a midshipman on the voyage and later an officer on all three of Cook's voyages. The Dolphin sailed from Plymouth in July 1764 in company with HMS Tamar, officially for the East Indies, though its true purpose was the exploration of the South Seas. Byron returned to England in May 1766 after a voyage of a little over 22 months, the first British circumnavigation completed in under two years.Published six years before Hawkesworth's official account, the narrative became famous for its description of the Patagonian giants, "still something of a mystery" according to Hill. Byron, nicknamed "Foul-Weather Jack", had earlier survived the wreck of the Wager during Anson's circumnavigation; that ordeal later supplied details for the shipwreck scene in his grandson Lord Byron's Don Juan.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.