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Printed for Bentley and Co, c.1792
Details
An Account of the Mutinous Seizure of the Bounty
Printed for Bentley and Co, c.1792
BOUNTY MUTINEERS – An Account of the Mutinous Seizure of the Bounty. With the Succeeding Hardships of the Crew. To which are added, Secret Anecdotes of the Otaheitean Females. London: for Bentley and Co, [c.1792].
A scarce sensational anonymous narrative of the Mutiny on the Bounty. "The account of the Mutiny is based on Bligh's book; the 'Secret Anecdotes of the Otaheitian Females' are extracted from Hawkesworth" (Ferguson). There were two Bentley issues of this text, one for sale by Symonds and one by Bell and Taylor; the present copy has the imprint indicating sale by Symonds, with text paginated [9]-76 (Ferguson notes that "apparently an error occurred in numbering the pages"). It shares a title with an earlier publication by Robert Turner, who "recognized that the public had an insatiable interest in the story of the mutiny … [and] believed that he could capitalize on this interest by stealing the thunder from Bligh's official account, then in preparation" (Hill). He was right—and his popular publication survives in a confusing number of variants. This Bentley edition has a slightly larger format and includes a frontispiece depicting Bligh in his nightshirt, and also contains what was probably the "first published clue to Fletcher Christian's post-mutiny whereabouts: the publisher reports information from a voyager that Christian and the mutineers had recently left Tahiti" (Hill). Christian's hideout on Pitcairn Island would not be discovered until the following century, when all but one of the original mutineers were dead. Ferguson 131 [but paginated as Ferguson 132; possibly an error, as ESTC gives pp. 76 for both Bentley issues]; ESTC T149210 [incorrectly dated 1790]. See Hill 1825 (modern reprint of this and the Turner edition).
Octavo (204 x 119mm). Engraved frontispiece (some toning and light offsetting from frontispiece). Modern quarter morocco, original stab holes visible. Provenance: Paul Peralta-Ramos (stamp on flyleaf).
Printed for Bentley and Co, c.1792
BOUNTY MUTINEERS – An Account of the Mutinous Seizure of the Bounty. With the Succeeding Hardships of the Crew. To which are added, Secret Anecdotes of the Otaheitean Females. London: for Bentley and Co, [c.1792].
A scarce sensational anonymous narrative of the Mutiny on the Bounty. "The account of the Mutiny is based on Bligh's book; the 'Secret Anecdotes of the Otaheitian Females' are extracted from Hawkesworth" (Ferguson). There were two Bentley issues of this text, one for sale by Symonds and one by Bell and Taylor; the present copy has the imprint indicating sale by Symonds, with text paginated [9]-76 (Ferguson notes that "apparently an error occurred in numbering the pages"). It shares a title with an earlier publication by Robert Turner, who "recognized that the public had an insatiable interest in the story of the mutiny … [and] believed that he could capitalize on this interest by stealing the thunder from Bligh's official account, then in preparation" (Hill). He was right—and his popular publication survives in a confusing number of variants. This Bentley edition has a slightly larger format and includes a frontispiece depicting Bligh in his nightshirt, and also contains what was probably the "first published clue to Fletcher Christian's post-mutiny whereabouts: the publisher reports information from a voyager that Christian and the mutineers had recently left Tahiti" (Hill). Christian's hideout on Pitcairn Island would not be discovered until the following century, when all but one of the original mutineers were dead. Ferguson 131 [but paginated as Ferguson 132; possibly an error, as ESTC gives pp. 76 for both Bentley issues]; ESTC T149210 [incorrectly dated 1790]. See Hill 1825 (modern reprint of this and the Turner edition).
Octavo (204 x 119mm). Engraved frontispiece (some toning and light offsetting from frontispiece). Modern quarter morocco, original stab holes visible. Provenance: Paul Peralta-Ramos (stamp on flyleaf).
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