‘THE FIRST EVENT OF GENERAL IMPORTANCE TO MANKIND IN THE HISTORY OF NAVIGATION’
VINCENT, William, editor.
The voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates, collected from the original journal preserved by Arrian, and illustrated by authorities ancient and modern; containing an account of the first navigation attempted by Europeans in the Indian Ocean ... To which are added three dissertations ... London, for T.
Cadell junior and W. Davies, 1797.
4to, pp. xv, [1 blank], 530, [2, errata and directions to bookbinder], with engraved frontispiece and 6 maps (4 folding); slightly browned, very occasional light foxing, slight worming to quires H-K touching a few letters and to lower blank margins of quires L-N, short closed tear to fore-edge of T2; overall very good in recent quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt lettering-piece to spine; signature of ‘Ed. Monckton’ at head of title and his armorial bookplate (‘The Honble Edward Monckton Sumerford Hall County of Stafford’) to front pastedown.
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The voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates, collected from the original journal preserved by Arrian, and illustrated by authorities ancient and modern; containing an account of the first navigation attempted by Europeans in the Indian Ocean ... To which are added three dissertations ... London, for T.
First edition, the work of the classical scholar William Vincent (1739-1815). The Voyage of Nearchus ... is a commentary on an expedition recorded by Arrian of Nicomedia in his Indica that Vincent termed ‘the first event of general importance to mankind in the history of navigation’ ... The voyage was conceived by Alexander the Great, about whom Vincent wrote with an admiration unusual for the time. His commentary drew on a wide range of sources and he was assisted by Samuel Horsley, dean of Westminster, who loaned two astronomical treatises, and by Alexander Dalrymple, hydrographer to the Admiralty, who prepared charts for him. More unusually for the period he made use of oral evidence from those who had recently visited the regions concerned’ (ODNB).
Provenance: Edward Monckton (1744-1832) served with the East India Company in India between 1762 and 1778; he was MP for Stafford between 1780 and 1812.
ESTC T137592
