[Clerke, Charles]:

$3,000 · Offered by William Reese Company

A JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP THE DOLPHIN...IN WHICH IS CONTAINED...AN EXACT DESCRIPTION OF THE STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN, AND OF THE GIGANTIC PEOPLE CALLED PATAGONIANS. ... Rare second edition of this anonymous account of the Dolphin's voyage to the South Seas, written by "a Midshipman on Board the said Ship," generally assumed to be Charles Clerke, who later sailed with Cook on all three voyages, serving as commander of the third voyage for the last six months. "Early in 1764 the Hon. John Byron ('Foul-Weather Jack' [and grandfather of Lord Byron]) was appointed in command of the Dolphin Frigate, the first English vessel to be sheathed with copper, and ordered to proceed to the East Indies, with secret instructions...to sail to the Pacific Ocean on an exploring expedition. The vessel sailed westward across the Pacific from the Straits of Magellan and managed, almost miraculously, to avoid discovering any islands except in the northern part of the Low Archipelago....He completed the circumnavigation of the globe in twenty-two months, an easy record up to that time, but a record which should not have been made on a voyage intended for discovery" - Cox.The voyage did make it to the Falklands (and Britain's first claim to them), seven of the Tuamotu Islands, Tinian, and one of the Marianas. "Although the voyage was not noted for its discoveries, it stirred the Admiralty to fresh investigation of the South Seas. This narrative was published six years b

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