Description
The first edition of The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay by Arthur Phillip, published in 1789, the first official account of the first settlement in Australia.
Quarto, [4], 6p, [errata], viii, [8], [4], x, 293p, lxxiv, [1]. Polished tree-calf, period calf spine, rebuilt hinges, title in gilt over green morocco label, decorative gilt bands. Complete with 55 copper-engraved plates, including the frontispiece portrait, vignette title page, and numerous folding maps. Archival tissue repair to closed tear through the “Chart of Norfolk Island,” scattered foxing to title page and a handful of plates. Bookplate of William H. Bartlett (1850-1918) of Vermejo Park, NM on the front pastedown.
This work is the first issue, with “Kangooroo” on the associated plates (later changed to “Kanguroo”); the “H. Webber ” imprint on the title page, page 122 misnumbered 221; and “Wulpine Opossum” later changed to “Vulpine.” Lacking the final leaf of advertisements, which is common. Includes the errata leaf, subscribers list, appendix and the “List of Convicts sent to New South Wales in 1787.”
(Ferguson, 47) (Wanthrup, 5) (Hill, 1347)
This was the first authentic and official account of the expedition to New South Wales and the foundation of the settlement. It aroused world-wide interest.
(Ferguson) Arthur Phillip (1738-1814) was the first Governor of New South Wales and the founding governor of Australia’s first European colony. A career Royal Navy officer, Phillip was appointed in 1786 to command the First Fleet and establish a penal settlement at Botany Bay; after finding it unsuitable, he selected Port Jackson and formally founded Sydney Cove in January 1788. As governor, Phillip faced acute shortages of food, labor, and supplies, imposed strict discipline to maintain order, encouraged agriculture and self-sufficiency, and promoted the emancipation and integration of well-behaved convicts. He also pursued a policy-unevenly realized-of conciliation with Aboriginal peoples, seeking peaceful relations amid growing conflict. Phillip returned to England in 1792 due to health issues.
