Details
HAWKINS, Sir RICHARD. The Observations of Sir Richard Hawkins Knight, in his Voyage into the South Sea. Anno Domini 1593. London: J.D[awson] for John Jaggard 1622. Folio, early eighteenth-century calf, double gilt fillet borders, spine gilt-tooled in six compartments, red morocco label, spine dry and slightly chipped at head and foot, small crack to lower joint, a few slight dampstains to margins, two ink inscriptions on title cropped by the binder, ink stain on final blank page. FIRST EDITION, woodcut device and ornamental initials. An attractive copy.
"The original account of a famous voyage. Hawkins had originally intended to circumnavigate the globe, trading with Japan, the Philippines, the Moluccas, China, and India. However, upon entering the Pacific in 1594, in his ship the Dainty, Hawkins plundered Valparaiso. Later in the year he was trapped by two Spanish ships carrying a force outnumbering his own by ten to one in the Bay of San Mateo in Peru. A three-day fight ensued and defeat was inevitable. Hawkins was released by the Spanish in 1602....In addition to its historical importance the work gives one of the best pictures of Elizabethan sea life that exists" -- Hill, p. 140; Sabin 30957; STC 12962.
Provenance: William Windham, eighteenth-century bookplate
"The original account of a famous voyage. Hawkins had originally intended to circumnavigate the globe, trading with Japan, the Philippines, the Moluccas, China, and India. However, upon entering the Pacific in 1594, in his ship the Dainty, Hawkins plundered Valparaiso. Later in the year he was trapped by two Spanish ships carrying a force outnumbering his own by ten to one in the Bay of San Mateo in Peru. A three-day fight ensued and defeat was inevitable. Hawkins was released by the Spanish in 1602....In addition to its historical importance the work gives one of the best pictures of Elizabethan sea life that exists" -- Hill, p. 140; Sabin 30957; STC 12962.
Provenance: William Windham, eighteenth-century bookplate