- 366
Dampier, William--Welbe, John
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
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Description
- An Answer to Captain Dampier's Vindication of his Voyage to the South-Seas. London: B. Bragge, [c.1707]
- paper
FIRST EDITION, small 4to (205 x 154mm.), 8pp., red morocco gilt, blue endpapers
THIS PAMPHLET IS RARE. There are no copies recorded as selling at auction on ABPC and AE, and it is not in Hill. ESTC lists just 3 copies.
"In September [1703] he [Dampier] sailed once more for the Pacific as commodore of a privateering expedition consisting of his ship, St George, and a consort, Cinque-Ports (Captain Charles Pickering). He left no memoir of this unfortunate voyage in which he was back at the old game of looting coastal towns and attempting to ambush the Manila galleon. He failed at both, and the two ships were consequently so rent with mutiny and desertion that one crewman jeered before departing, ‘Poor Dampier, thy Case is like King James, every Body has left thee’... When he returned to England in 1707 after a period of imprisonment at Batavia on suspicion of piracy he was forced to defend himself from the charges of former crewmen William Funnell (A Voyage Round the World, 1707 [see lot 535]) and John Welbe (An Answer to Captain Dampier's ‘Vindication’, c.1707 [this work]). Their accounts evidence a pattern of favouritism, ill temper, and abuse of his officers that had also characterized Dampier's command of the Roebuck; they further allege that he was a drunken coward who refused to board the Manila galleon (the Rosario) and that he took bribes from the captains of his few prizes" (ODNB).
It was during this expedition that Alexander Selkirk, prototype for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, was marooned on Juan Fernandez by Dampier's former consort, the Cinque-Ports, in November 1704.
THIS PAMPHLET IS RARE. There are no copies recorded as selling at auction on ABPC and AE, and it is not in Hill. ESTC lists just 3 copies.
"In September [1703] he [Dampier] sailed once more for the Pacific as commodore of a privateering expedition consisting of his ship, St George, and a consort, Cinque-Ports (Captain Charles Pickering). He left no memoir of this unfortunate voyage in which he was back at the old game of looting coastal towns and attempting to ambush the Manila galleon. He failed at both, and the two ships were consequently so rent with mutiny and desertion that one crewman jeered before departing, ‘Poor Dampier, thy Case is like King James, every Body has left thee’... When he returned to England in 1707 after a period of imprisonment at Batavia on suspicion of piracy he was forced to defend himself from the charges of former crewmen William Funnell (A Voyage Round the World, 1707 [see lot 535]) and John Welbe (An Answer to Captain Dampier's ‘Vindication’, c.1707 [this work]). Their accounts evidence a pattern of favouritism, ill temper, and abuse of his officers that had also characterized Dampier's command of the Roebuck; they further allege that he was a drunken coward who refused to board the Manila galleon (the Rosario) and that he took bribes from the captains of his few prizes" (ODNB).
It was during this expedition that Alexander Selkirk, prototype for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, was marooned on Juan Fernandez by Dampier's former consort, the Cinque-Ports, in November 1704.
Condition
A good copy
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."