Chronicles of the Sea: or, Faithful Narratives of Shipwrecks, Fires, Famines, and Disasters Incidental to a Life of Maritime Enterprise; Together wit

A complete run of the weekly numbers, 119 parts, bound in 2 vols., each part with woodcut vignettes, vol. 2 pp.378-406 and 426-464 misbound but complete, contemporary half sheep over marbled boards, handsomely rebacked, preliminary leaves slightly soiled, 4to, W. M. Clark for M. Moore, 1838-40. The perils of the deep may be considered the greatest evils which men can possibly endure A Very Scarce Work. Chronicles of the Sea was published every Saturday from the 6th of January 1838 until the 18th of April 1840. Each issue describes some tragedy or horror experienced at sea, with the title narrative illustrated in a woodcut vignette. The work covers all types of mariners, including whalers, smugglers, merchant sailors and navy ships. The manner of the misfortunes can range from encounters with pirates to encounters with ghosts; being stuck in pack ice or being marooned on desert islands. Some of the articles are first hand accounts taken from log books, or in the case of Captain Richard Falconer, written specifically for the Chronicle. However, many describe important and infamous historical figures and their ventures. Two issues are dedicated to the retelling of the Mutiny on the Bounty, one of the most well known mutinies that ever occurred in the British Royal Navy. On the 28th of April 1789, master s mate Fletcher Christian, along with eighteen mutineers, took control of the Bounty and cast the captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and eighteen of his men adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a small boat. Bligh, a skilled navigator, managed to navigate the small boat west across the Pacific using a couple of navigational instruments and two books containing mathematical, astronomical and geographical information. They undertook a voyage of 3618 nautical miles to return to England. The shipwreck of the Medusa, immortalised in the famous painting The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault, is reported in detail. In June 1816, an inexperienced captain ran the Medusa aground off the coast of West Africa. Due to a shortage of lifeboats, a makeshift raft was built to hold 147 people, mostly the lower classes and a handful of crew. The lifeboats briefly towed the raft until, in an act of cowardice and cruelty, the captain cut it loose to drift away. When the raft was found thirteen days later, only fifteen of the original 147 had were still alive. They had resorted to murder and cannibalism to survive. Several issues are dedicated to the exploits of Captain William Dampier, one of the most important British explorers and buccaneers of the 17th century. Dampier was the first Englishman to set foot on Australia, and the first man to circumnavigate the world three times. Among his many extraordinary achievements, Dampier mapped the winds and the currents of the world s oceans for the first time. In the second volume there is an extensive memoir of Lord Nelson, and articles covering the Battle of Trafalgar, anecdotes of Nelson and coverage of his memorial service. Many other famous navigators and explorers adventures are described, including Privateer Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Defoe s Robinson Crusoe; French explorer La Perouse; and mathematician Richard Norwood, who surveyed Bermuda. This is a rare and interesting work. The British Library and The National Library have complete sets. WorldCat mentions 5 other institutions with vol. 1 only.