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Lot #20 - Collins, David. An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales

  • Auction House:
    Mossgreen
  • Sale Name:
    The Denis Joachim Collection
  • Sale Date:
    19 Jun 2016 ~ 2pm - Session 1: Lots 1 - 321
    20 Jun 2016 ~ 10am - Session 2: Lots 322 - 480
    20 Jun 2016 ~ 2pm - Session 3: Lot 481 - 688
    20 Jun 2016 ~ 6pm - Session 4: Lots 689 - 818
  • Lot #:
    20
  • Lot Description:
    Collins, David. An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales
    with Remarks on the Dispositions, Customs, Manners, &c. of the Native Inhabitants of that Country. To which are added, some particulars of New Zealand; compiled, by permission, from the Mss. of Lieutenant-Governor King... [together with] An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, from its first Settlement, in January 1788, to August 1801: with Remarks on the Dispositions, Customs, Manners, &c. of the Native Inhabitants of that Country. To which are added, some particulars of New Zealand; compiled, by permission, from the Mss. of Lieutenant-Governor King; and an account of a voyage performed by Captain Flinders and Mr Bass; by which the existence of a Strait separating Van Diemen’s Land from the continent of New Holland was ascertained. Abstracted from the Journal of Mr Bass... Vol. II. Two volumes, quarto, in total three maps (one folding), 23 engraved plates (three handcoloured), and eight engravings in the text (two handcoloured), with half-title in the second volume but not the first, a superb copy bound in pale russia of the period, spines and front boards decorated in gilt and blind (unsigned but reminiscent of Kalthoeber), all edges gilt; Beriah Botfield’s copy from Longleat House (sale, Sotheby’s, London, June 1979, lot 30). London, T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1798 – 1802.
  • Notes:
    First and best editions of the last, the most detailed, and the most painstaking of all descriptions of the First Fleet voyage and the first settlement. In its complete form, it is also one of the rarest. Written by Judge Advocate David Collins, who was also Governor Phillip’s Secretary and close friend and adviser, this was the last of the First Fleet journals and has been aptly described as the first history of New South Wales. Owing to Collins’s close association with Governor Phillip and his central role in the colony’s administration, he was in a perfect position to compile a detailed and informed record of all important transactions in the colony, commencing with the preparations in 1786 for the First Fleet expedition and recording the subsequent events in painstaking detail. This is also the best illustrated First Fleet journal, with highly-regarded plates engraved by Edward Dayes, probably after sketches by convict artist Thomas Watling. The second volume, based almost entirely on the papers of Governor Hunter supplemented by official records and dispatches, is significantly more uncommon than the first volume. It is of great importance, both for its chronicle of later events and for the narratives of voyages and expeditions of discovery undertaken in the intervening years. These include the early coastal voyages of Bass and Flinders, as well as the inland expeditions of John Price and Henry Hacking – including the first report of the existence of the koala, the earliest recorded sighting of a wombat on mainland Australia, and the first report of the discovery of the lyre-bird, which is here described and illustrated in colour for the first time. A most attractive and well-associated copy of this “cornerstone in any collection of Australian books” (Wantrup). Casey Wood, 294; Davidson, pp. 90-2; Ferguson, 263 and 350; Hill 2, 335 (first volume only); Wantrup, 19 and 20.
  • Estimate:
    A$10,000 - 15,000
  • Realised Price:
    *****

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  • Category:
    Books & Manuscripts

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.



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