Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the wild coast of South America; from the year 1772, to 1777: elucidating the history of that country, and describing its productions, viz. quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, trees, shrubs, fruits, & roots; with an account of the indians of Guiana, & negroes of Guinea....illustrated with 80 elegant engravings from drawings made by the author.
London: Printed for J. Johnson and J. Edwards, 1796.
With Eighty-Three Plates and Maps, of Which Sixteen are Engraved by Blake
STEDMAN, Captain J.G. Narrative, of a Five Years’ Expedition, against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the Wild Coast of South America; from the year 1772, to 1777: elucidating the history of that country, and describing its productions, viz. quadruple, birds, fishes, reptiles, trees, shrubs, fruits, & roots; with an account of the Indians of Guiana, & Negroes of Guinea. Illustrated with 80 elegant engravings, from drawings made by the author. London: Printed by J. Johnson, 1796.
First edition, among Blake's finest work as a book illustrator. Two quarto volumes
(10 7/16 x 8 1/8 inches; 265 x 206 mm). xviii, 407 (ie 415 as usual), [1, blank], [7, index, directions for placing the plates and errata], [1, blank]; iv, 404, [7, index, directions for placing the plates and errata], [1, blank] pp. Plates watermarked 1794. Complete with eighty-three etched plates including frontispiece (first volume), both title pages with etched vignettes and eighty plates of which sixteen were engraved by Blake and five are folding (maps and plates). All after Stedman. Pages 111 & 112 of volume I misbound between pages 104 & 105. This copy with a faint "Blake" signature in Volume 1 vignette on the title-page, bottom left just above the protruding cannon, which is not present in volume 2. Later editions do not have this.
Contemporary full mottled calf. Volume I with repairs to head and tail of the spine and the front and rear joints. Front and back joints of Volume I, cracked but holding. Volume II with invisible rebacking, preserving original spine. Boards tooled in gilt. Each volume with two black morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. Edges speckled brown. Marbled endpapers. Green silk bookmarks in each volume. Overall a very good set and internally very clean.
“Stedman, an officer in the Scots Brigade in Holland, volunteered for service against the negroes in Dutch Guiana. While out there he to all intents married the subject of Number 9 [facing p. 95], Joanna, a Mulatto, and had a son by her, who became a midshipman in the British Navy, but died young. The author emerges as a most interesting and sympathetic character. As Lowndes rightly says the book is as entertaining as a romance. It will be noticed that William Blake engraved thirteen plates, while three plates were engraved by Bartolozzi”. "Many of the plates, it will be noticed, were engraved by [William] Blake, who had learnt his trade from Basire, to whom he was apprenticed for seven years from August 1772. As Keynes says in his bibliography From 1791 until 1800 Blake did much of his work as a journeyman engraver for the booksellers" (Abbey). Keynes eventually decided that Blake was responsible for sixteen of the plates.
"Both text and plates made a strong impression on reviewers. The Analytical Review, XXIV (Sept. 1796), said 'The numerous plates...are neatly engraved, and are, we have great reason to believe, faithful and correct delineations of objects described in the work.' The Critical Review (jan. 1797) praised the engravings as being 'in a style of uncommon elegance'" (Bentley).
Bentley 499A. Cox II, p. 285; Abbey, Travel, 719. Sabin 91075. Cundall, West Indies, 1715. Ray England 2.
HBS 66086.
$5,500.
Price: $5,500.00
Item #66086