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Important for the history of shipwrecks

WOODARD, David (& William VAUGHAN).
Relation des malheurs et de la captivité, pendant deux ans et cinq mois, du capitaine David Woodard, et de quatre de ses compagnons, dans l'isle de Céléèbès, située sous la ligne équinoxiale; avec la description de cette isle, de ses productions, et des moeurs et coutumes de ses habitants; suivie de plusieurs récits intéressans de naufrages modernes. Traduit de l'Anglais sur la 3e. édition.

With the silhouette portrait of Captain Woodard in 1796 at the age of 37 as frontispiece, 2 folding maps and 1 folding plate with two indigenous ships.

With the silhouette portrait of Captain Woodard in 1796 at the age of 37 as frontispiece, 2 folding maps and 1 folding plate with two indigenous ships.

With the silhouette portrait of Captain Woodard in 1796 at the age of 37 as frontispiece, 2 folding maps and 1 folding plate with two indigenous ships.

With the silhouette portrait of Captain Woodard in 1796 at the age of 37 as frontispiece, 2 folding maps and 1 folding plate with two indigenous ships.



Paris, F. Buisson, An XIV-1805. 8vo. Contemporary calf, spine gilt in compartments with black morocco title label, lettered in gold, gilt binding edges. With the silhouette portrait of Captain Woodard in 1796 at the age of 37 as frontispiece, 2 folding maps and 1 folding plate with two indigenous ships. (4), 322 pp.

First edition of the French translation after the third English edition of 1805 of this story of the remarkable adventures of the American captain David Woodard, as told by him to William Vaughan, a prominent London merchant. The original English account first appeared in London in 1804, followed by a second and third edition in 1805. German and Dutch translations were published in the same year 1805.
David Woodard sailed from Boston in 1791 for the East Indies. In 1793 Woodard was on his way from Batavia to Manila in the American ship 'Enterprise'. While in the Straits of Macassar, he set off in a boat with five others to purchase provisions from another ship, but after a while the crew found themselves separated from the ships through heavy winds. Finally they were forced to land on Celebes, where one of them was instantly murdered by the natives, and the others taken into captivity. After two years and five months of captivity they reached Macassar where the Dutch governor provided them with clothes, food and money. The lively written account of the hardships, escape and eventual arrival in London, is edited by William Vaughan to whom captain Woodard told his story. It includes also a geographical account of the island of Celebes, the loss of the Pandora, an account of the Bounty survivors, and an account from one of the survivors of the Black Hole of Calcutta and a dictionary of the Malayan language.

William Vaughan (1752-1850) is best-known as one of the first experts on the London docks. His studies were much directed to geography, history, travels, and voyages of discovery. So it is not surprising that Vaughan was so much struck with Woodard's story and adventures. The Narrative of Captain David Woodard became part of Vaughan's plan for the formation of a Society to collect information from the most remarkable shipwrecks and accidents that have occurred in order that they might serve as an interesting SEAMAN'S GUIDE.

His book remains valuable not only for its detailed descriptions of the island and inhabitants of Celebes (a part of present-day Indonesia) at the end of the 18th century, but also for its Appendix containing abstracts and a checklist of shipwrecks and disasters at sea, including Lieutenant Bligh's Narrative.

Fine copy.- (Margins of the 2 folding maps frayed with sm. tear).
Cf. Tiele 1230; Cat. NHSM I, p.142 (Dutch ed.); Cf. Hill 1912 (English ed.); Huntress 144C (English ed.).

Related Subjects: French  Malaysia  Philippines  Piracy  Shipwrecks  Travel & Voyages 

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