First edition: a remarkable copy in fine original condition.

First edition: a remarkable copy in fine original condition.

Dixon's account of his voyage in the Queen Charlotte is dedicated to Joseph Banks, and is a companion to Portlock's account of the same voyage; both men had voyaged with Cook, Dixon as armourer aboard Discovery. They sailed together as far as Prince William Sound, Dixon then following the coast making a series of landfalls. He discovered and closely observed Queen Charlotte's Island, and entered Dixon's Straits, before ultimately arriving at Nootka where he joined both Portlock and Meares. The book is "an excellent authority for the early days of fur trading on the northwest coast…" (Streeter).

"Dixon's voyage is important as a supplement to Captain Cook and for its contributions to the natural history of the Pacific Northwest… The work previously done by Cook along the northwest coast of America was mapped more definitely by Dixon, who discovered the Queen Charlotte Islands, Port Mulgrave, Norfolk Bay, and Dixon Entrance and Archipelago while continuing down the coast and trading with the Indians" (Hill).

The Queen Charlotte made visits to Hawaii in 1786 and 1787, trading at Oahu and Kauai. The book also includes a long account of commercial transactions at Canton. Though often catalogued as the work of William Beresford, whose letters to a friend signed W.B. form the basis of the work, Dixon added substantially to the text and edited the whole.