DIXON, Captain George (1748-1795) and PORTLOCK, Nathaniel (1748-1817). A Voyage Round the World; but more particularly to the North-West Coast of
America: Performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, in the King George and Queen Charlotte, Captains Portlock and Dixon. London: Printed for John Stockdale and George Goulding, 1789.
4to (304 x 240 mm). 20 engraved plates, charts, and maps, including 5 ornithological plates with contemporary hand-coloring as issued. (Offsetting from plates to text, some spotting, title-page evenly toned.) Modern polished calf antique; marble paper slipcase.
DELUXE FIRST EDITION ON THICK PAPER, WITH HAND-COLORED PLATES, of Dixon's account of this voyage to the Pacific Northwest, a voyage undertaken by the newly-formed King George's Sound Company to establish a fur trade between the northwest American coast and China. With Dixon as Captain of the Queen Charlotte and Nathaniel Portlock as captain of the King George, the expedition sailed to Prince William Sound, where the two ships then parted. Dixon continued down the coast, discovered Queen Charlotte Island, Port Mulgrave, Norfolk Bay, and the Dixon Archipelago, and made three stops in Hawaii for trading and acquiring provisions. The ship subsequently stopped at Canton to trade and finally returned to Dover in September 1788. The text of Dixon's voyage is by William Beresford, the supercargo aboard the Queen Charlotte, written in the form of letters to a friend in London, but edited by Dixon, who added the introduction, the appendix, and the maps.
A contemporary advertisement announcing the publication offers "a few copies ... printed on fine paper, hot pressed and plates coloured." These deluxe issues, as here, are considerably rarer than the usual uncoloured examples. Besides the obvious benefit of hand-coloured illustrations, the paper used for the text of this deluxe issue is a higher-quality paper.Cox II:27-28; Forbes 161; Hill 117; Howes D-365; Lada-Mocarski 43; Sabin 20364; Streeter sale VI: 3484; Wickersham 657.
This lot is located in Chicago.
