Anson's Voyage: AN AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE JOURNAL OF COMMODORE ANSON'S EXPEDITION,
containing An exact Account of the several Transactions that happen'd; particularly of the Expeditions to Madeira, St. Julian's, St. Catharine's, and St. Juan Ferdinandez [sic]; the great Necessity the Seamen were under for Want of Provisions and of their being forced to live on Sea-Lions, Sea-Dogs, and other Creatures, and of their being obliged to drink their own Urine for Want of Water; of the terrible Published from the Journals of several of the principal officers who attended him throughout the whole Expedition. The Whole embellished with Copper-Plates of all the remarkable Things that happen'd during the Voyage. London: Printed for C. Whitefield, in White Friars. M.DCC.XLIV. [1744]. 12mo, First Edition; pp. 316(last blank, page 315 misnumbered 515); frontispiece portrait, 4 folding plates (at pp. 23, 35, 51 and 125, the first trimmed close, but entire); full speckled calf with fully gilt spine in contemporary style by Aquarius; a fine, generally clean and crisp copy; extremely rare. London; Printed for C. Whitefield; 1744. The publication may well have been issued initially in weekly or fortnightly parts as various signatures are numbered from No III to No XV (the gatherings being somewhat irregular but mostly in alternate 8s and 4s, A to Cc), the first four signatures however do not bear any part numbers. The text gives every appearance of being "Authentic and Genuine" as claimed in the title, with detailed, dated, and for the most part daily, entries giving information additional to that in other accounts of Anson's voyage such as the official account by Richard Walter and the accounts of Bulkeley and Cummins, Pascoe Thomas, etc., as well as corroborating these accounts in other particulars. This text is therefore an important source for accurate information on this famous voyage. In addition to the daily doings of the ships, there are extensive accounts of the places visited, their natural history, inhabitants etc. For example, detailed accounts are given of Juan Fernandez, Acapulco, several parts of the East Indies, Philippines, Canton & Singapore, Cape of Good Hope, Streights of Magellan, sealing activities, etc. This is a fascinating account of considerable importance and extreme rarity.
***Of the several unauthorized accounts of Anson's famous voyage that appeared shortly after his return, and years before the official version of 1748, this seems to be indisputably the rarest. We have been unable to trace any record of sale apart from this copy and can find only two copies in libraries, one in the British Library, and another in the National Library of Scotland, to both of which this copy conforms. There appears to be no copy in North America or in Europe or in Australasia. Another edition was published in 1749, and this appears to be equally rare, if not rarer. We have been able to trace only the single copy in the University of Newcastle library in the U.K.
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