A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Arranged in Systematic Order. (18 volumes complete.)

Robert Kerr (1757-1813); W. Stevenson

Published by William Blackwood; J. Murray; J. Cuming; T. Cadell. Edinburgh & London., 1824

About this Item

Complete 18 volume set, half leather with original boards and modern matching spines. 1824. Overall condition is very good. Recent fine binding using original boards. Old blanks are gone, this has new blanks. Only interior markings are pencilled numbers on back of title page. Some foxing in text, heavier in maps. Many pages uncut. 17 maps plus one fold out plate of vocabulary. Set is a compilation of journals and texts from every major European voyage of discovery from antiquity to 1800. Kerr is not so much an author as an editor. Wherever possible he reproduced the original texts and journals. He edited them to reduce redundancy but maintain fidelity to the original text. His first volume shows the trouble he went to. He has rendered into English 9th century Icelandic texts then proceeds on to 9th and 10th century Anglo-Saxon texts. Where meaning is obscure he annotates generously. This was a major effort by a true scholar. The maps show a commensurate effort to create the best maps from the available evidence. A note on what edition/printing this is. I have two sets (title pages with different dates) plus some paperback editions which preceded the hardcover editions and can compare. Most, if not all, volumes were issued in sections in paperback to subscribers beginning in 1811. (One of these is included in this set as an extra. If we are being precise these softcover editions represent the true first printings.) Kerr died in 1813 and his death complicated everything. Volume 9 was issued in late 1813. Volumes 10-17 were issued 1814-1816 with the help of an anonymous editor. Volume 18 was published in 1824 and completed the set. This set has title pages all dated 1824. All else is exactly the same as the 1811 set including errata. Volumes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7 have dates of printing on the last page and the dates in both sets match. For example volume 1 in both sets states on last page "Printed by George Ramsay and Co., Edinburgh. 1811." This means either this set was printed at same time as the 1811 first editions and put aside for new title pages upon completion of the set; or the plates were put aside and the whole thing was printed again 1824 using the original plates. Please feel free to ask questions as there is far too much information to include here. Please see scans of the books you will receive. Seller Inventory # ABE-1551061049781

Bibliographic Details

Title: A General History and Collection of Voyages ...

Publisher: William Blackwood; J. Murray; J. Cuming; T. Cadell. Edinburgh & London.

Publication Date: 1824

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition