Log of the Centurion. Based on the original papers of Captain Philip Saumarez on board HMS Centurion, Lord Anson's flagship during his circumnavigation 1740-44

Heaps, Leo

ISBN 10: 024610581X / ISBN 13: 9780246105813

Published by Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, London, 1973

About this Item

First edition, first impression. Edge wear and some chipping to top and bottom of jacket and spine. corners and folds scuffed, spine lightly browned, some slight dust soiling, jacket now in protective film wrapper. Not price clipped (£3.75), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall in vg ++ condition. 264pp. Maps of Anson's voyage on endpapers, frontispiece portrait of Saumarez, lavishly illustrated in colour and b&w. The object of Anson's epic voyage was to capture the Spanish Acapulco galleon and harrass the Spaniards to the best of their power. The treasure captured during the four year voyage amounted to some fifty million in today's money and was sufficient to set all the participants up for life and compensate them for the hardships endured, except ironically Phillip Saumarez (1710-47) himself, who was killed in an engagement off Cape Finisterre. The manuscript of Saumarez's diary was lost for many years and only discovered in a cardboard box in his family's manor on Guernsey in the Channel Isles in the1960's. Indispensable to all Patrick O'Brian fans.

Seller Inventory # 001180

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Log of the Centurion. Based on the original papers of Captain Philip Saumarez on board HMS Centurion, Lord Anson's flagship during his circumnavigation 1740-44
• Publisher: Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, London
• Publication Date: 1973
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 024610581X
• ISBN 13: 9780246105813
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

The ship's log of the Centurion, Lord Anson's flagship during his world circumnavigation 1740- 44, based on the journals of Captain Philip Saumarez written during the voyage. This naval expedition, launched to harass Spanish vessels and seize treasure, met all expectations with the capture of the 1970 s equivalent of £50 million worth of booty. Samaurez's books, letters and documents- rediscovered in the Channel Islands during the early 20th century- furnished Leo Heaps with material for his account of daily events, hazards and attainments of the early circumnavigation. A comprehensive political and social background to the voyage is included in the text