Item #5000644 A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that Vast Country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's Ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner. With an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island…. Matthew FLINDERS.
A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that Vast Country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's Ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner. With an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island…

A Voyage to Terra Australis…
A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that Vast Country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's Ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner. With an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island…

London: Printed by W. Bulmer… and published by G. and W. Nicol, 1814.

Two text volumes, quarto, with nine engraved plates, in large paper format with generous margins and a few edges uncut; and folio atlas with sixteen large charts either folding or double-page, two double-page folding plates of coastal views and ten folded botanical plates; the text volumes in old half maroon grained calf, the atlas in old half calf.

The great classic of Australian coastal exploration

One of the most famous Australian rare books, the full account of the first circumnavigation of Australia. The two extensive text volumes and the accompanying volume of charts of the coastline represent the magnificent achievement that was Flinders's voyage in the Investigator, the full-scale expedition to discover and explore the entire coastline of Australia (the name that Flinders himself preferred and championed). Flinders was the first to circumnavigate the continent, finally establishing that Australia was one large island and not, as previously had been speculated, divided by a navigable central strait.

One of the most famous Australian rare books, the full account of the first circumnavigation of Australia. The two extensive text volumes and the accompanying volume of charts of the coastline represent the magnificent achievement that was Flinders's voyage in the Investigator, the full-scale expedition to discover and explore the entire coastline of Australia (the name that Flinders himself preferred and championed). Flinders was the first to circumnavigate the continent, finally establishing that Australia was one large island and not, as previously had been speculated, divided by a navigable central strait.

The three volumes form the complete record of the expedition with an authoritative introductory history of maritime exploration in Australian waters from the earliest times. The text contains a day by day account of the Investigator voyage and Flinders' later voyages on the Porpoise and the Cumberland. Robert Brown's 'General Remarks, geographical and systematical, on the Botany of Terra Australis', which is illustrated by Ferdinand Bauer's botanical plates in the atlas, is printed in an appendix in the second volume. The nine engraved plates in the text volumes and two double-page plates of coastal views in the atlas are by the landscape painter William Westall, who travelled as official artist on the voyage. These are in many cases the very earliest views of the places visited and discovered on the voyage.

The important charts in the folio atlas are all in their earliest issue - a significant point since they remained standard charts for many parts of the Australian coast for a long time, and were revised and updated as new information came to hand. Flinders's charts were generally of such accuracy that they form the basis of all modern charts of Australia.

"Flinders's Voyage to Terra Australis is the most outstanding book on the coastal exploration of Australia. It is the centrepiece in any collection of books dealing with Australian coastal discovery. Such is the historical importance of this monumental work that no general collection of Australian books could be considered complete without it" (Wantrup). The text volumes in this set are examples of the issue on 'Imperial' large paper, of which only 150 copies were prepared, while the atlas volume is in the smaller of the two formats issued.

Provenance: Joseph Husband (bookplate); Scot Clifford (bookplate).

Ferguson, 576; Hill, 614; Ingleton, 6487; Kroepelien, 438; Tooley, pp. 77-9; Wantrup, 67a.

Condition Report: Text volumes: the two frontispieces and other plates with edge-staining from oxidisation of paper. Atlas volume: a few folds repaired, a couple of the maps with some spotting.

Price (AUD): $64,000.00

US$41,700.24   Other currencies

Ref: #5000644

Condition Report