This historic engraving is from William Dampier's Nouveau voyage autour du monde... or A New Voyage Round the World.... The work was published in Rouen, France by Jean Baptiste Machuel in 1723. This work describing Dampier's voyages is celebrated as one of the greatest exploration and adventure tales written.

William Dampier (1651-1715) was born in England and was orphaned. He set out in 1679 and took to the seas as a pirate and sea captain before returning in 1691. He is noted as the first man to circumnavigate the world three times. He was also the first Englishman to explore parts of New Holland (Australia) and New Guinea. He's believed to have been the first Englishman to step on the Australian mainland.

"William Dampier combined a swashbuckling life of adventure with pioneering scientific achievements. In 1676, he started his career as a buccaneer preying on ships on the Spanish Main and struggling through the impenetrable jungle of the Isthmus of Panama in search of gold. He could easily have ended up on the gallows. Poor and obscure yet determined to sail the world to make his fortune, he was to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe three times. Among his many extraordinary achievements, Dampier mapped the winds and the currents of the world?s oceans for the first time. He inspired Darwin one hundred and fifty years later with his notes on the wildlife of the Galapagos islands and elsewhere. His portrait in London?s National Portrait Gallery shows a lean, strong-featured man with a thoughtful expression, brown shoulder-length hair and a plain coat, holding a book in his hand. He is styled ?Pirate and Hydrographer? but even that tells only part of his story. He was a pioneering navigator, naturalist, travel writer and explorer, as well as hydrographer who was, indeed, quite happy to seek his fortune as a pirate." (Preston)


Paper Size: ~ 3 3/4 - 11 5/8" by 6 1/4 - 8"


Paper Type or Special Features: Engraving

The work is in very good condition overall. There is occasional border or plate cropped due to the fold out nature of the work or binding process. There may be some faint offset. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.