Here is another myth that captured people's imaginations back in the 18th century. Item 53 is A Voyage round the World, in His Majesty's Ship the Dolphin, commanded by the Honourable Commodore Byron…By an Officer on board said ship, published in 1767. The work has been attributed to James Clerke, who was not quite yet an officer, but in time would become one. What was notable about this voyage is what Byron and his men discovered, or thought they discovered, in the southern part of South America - a race of giants. How they came to imagine these Patagonian natives were giants is unclear, but the legend of the Patagonian Giants arose from this journey. They were originally described as 9 feet tall, but that number gradually worked its way down. It finally was determined they were around 5' 10", tall for that era, but hardly the giants they had imagined. Clerke would go on to succeed Cook as commander of the third voyage when the latter was killed by natives in Hawaii, but Clerke himself succumbed to disease only a short time later. Offered is a second (and best) revised edition. AU $3,850 (US $4,117).

 

Next comes a voyage that was not intended to be a voyage of discovery, though it ended up providing some of the earliest mapping of the north coast of Australia. It had a very practical purpose. The mission was to carry breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the Caribbean, to feed the slaves cheaply (it never worked as the slaves refused to eat the stuff). However, this pedestrian mission turned into one of the most notable mutinies and adventures ever on the high seas. This would be the mutiny on the Bounty, its protagonist Captain William Bligh. Bligh might be regarded as somewhat pompous and strict, but most reports indicated he was hardly a brutal captain by the standards of the day. Nevertheless, many of his men mutinied. It is likely they found life in the tropical paradise of Tahiti preferable to carrying breadfruit trees across the ocean. Shortly after leaving Tahiti, they revolted, forcing Bligh and his loyal sailors onto a small boat, and then returning with the Bounty to Tahiti. Bligh would lead his loyal men on an incredible 3,500-mile journey in their small boat, past Australia and eventually to rescue in Batavia. Once returning to England, Bligh quickly published this work, A Narrative of the Mutiny, on board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; and the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, in the Ship's Boat… published in 1790. This is Bligh's first account of the incident (two years later he wrote a more detailed one). The rush was necessary for Bligh to preserve his reputation, and provide evidence for the court-martial (in absentia) of the mutineers. Item 226. AU $24,500 (US $26,230).

 

Captain Cook brought back more than charts and information. He brought back a Tahitian native on one of his sister ships on the second voyage. His name was "Omai" (actually it was just "Mai," but perhaps the British thought he was an Irishman?). Omai became the toast of London, the epitome of the "noble savage," who all of society wanted to meet. He would return home on Cook's third voyage, and it was Bligh who, on landing in Tahiti, would learn that Omai died a few years after his return. Item 332 is a portrait of Omai by Nathaniel Dance, engraved by F. Bartolozzi in 1774. AU $15,500 (US $16,586).

 

You may reach Hordern House at +61 (02) 9356 4411 or rare@hordern.com. Their website is found at www.hordern.com.