SHELVOCKE, George, Captain (1675-1742). A Voyage Round the World, By the Way of the Great South Sea: performed in a private Expedition
8vo (203 x 122 mm). Engraved vignette on title-page, engraved double-page folding map, 2 engraved plates (2 folding). Second edition, describing Shelvocke's privately funded privateering voyage which sought to duplicate the success of Woodes Rogers' highly profitable voyage of 1708-1711, and first published in 1726. Shelvocke commanded the Speedwell and John Clipperton the Success in raids against Spanish shipping on the west coast of South America. He sailed up the west coast to Cabo San Lucas, where he spent a few months; he wrote one of the earliest descriptions of Indians on Baja California, and was one of the first to suggest the possibility of finding gold in California. After the loss of the Speedwell off Juan Frenandez, he made a fast crossing of the Pacific to Canton, where he sold his ship and apparently awarded himself with double his share of the plunder. His return to England brought charges of piracy and embezzlement, and the publication of the first edition of this work brought charges of libel from his shipmate William Betagh (see lot 19). Shelvocke's son George edited and corrected the first edition, resulting in the present edition.
