George Vancouver's A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World; in which the Coast of North-west America has been carefully examined and accurately surveyed undertaken by His Majesty’s Command, Principally with a View to ascertain the existence of any Navigable Communication between the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans … A New Edition, with Corrections. This is the second edition of the work and was printed in London for John Stockdale in 1801.

There are six volumes in octavo size as well as the atlas volume with maps which is folio size with several fold out maps. The volumes feature 17 folding engraved plates. It lacks two of the charts to volume one but are provided in modern facsimile (one bound in and one loose) as well as pages 409 to 410 provided in facsimile. The six octavo volumes are bound in paper-backed pink paper boards with spines titled in early manuscript, uncut pages. The folio volume features 16 folding modern facsimile charts to accompany the work.

George Vancouver (1757-1798) was a British explorer. He sailed with Captain James Cook on his second and third voyages. Under the direction of George III of England, Vancouver set out in 1792 to survery the Spanish settlements and coast-line from La Paz in Baja to San Francisco, California as well as to the coast discovered by Captain James Cook. His hydographical work made him one of Britain's foremost navigators.

Howes said of the work, "This voyage became one of the most important ever made in the interests of geographical knowledge." (Howes V23) Hill noted, "This voyage became one of the most important ever made in the interests of geographical knowledge." (Hill 1754) Streeter described the first edition in 1798 saying: "This narrative is one of the most important accounts of the exploration of the Pacific Northwest and New Zealand, and valuable source information about Tahiti and the Hawaiian Islands in the last decade of the eighteenth century. Cowan considered the account to be superior to any of its kind and the chief authority on the areas explored during this period. Vancouver (1758-1798) was an extraordinarily capable explorer, having sailed with Cook on the second and third voyages (1772-4, 1776-80) and served under Rodney and Alan Gardner. It was Gardner who recommended him for a voyage in search for a northwest passage to the Great Lakes. The present narrative is the complete account of that voyage, accompanied by an atlas of maps and views of the areas explored. Vancouver died on May 10, 1798, his brother John completing the task of preparing and editing the narrative. Among the important features of the narrative are the engraved views.of the Mission of San Carlos and the Presidio of Monterey, probably the first published views of California. It is possible that the artist sailing with La Perouse, who visited Monterey in 1786, drew a sketch of the Mission, but no views of California scenery appear in the La Perouse atlas." (Streeter Sale 3497)

Provenance: Bookplate of Francis White Popham. Bookplate of Andrew David, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy

The work is in good to very good condition overall. There is occasional light spotting and staining. There are some pages or plates loos. The boards and binding to the octavo volumes are worn, loose, or somewhat broken or creased. There may be a few minor imperfections or faint marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.