1818 Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Alceste : Coast of Corea / Korea

Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Alceste, along the Coast of Corea, to the Island of Lewchew; with an Account of her Subsequent Shipwreck

By John M'Leod (Macleod)

London; John Murray, 1818. Second Edition. 8vo. Half leather binding. 323pp., illustrated with b/w portrait frontispiece of Captian Murray Maxwell, plus 5 hand-coloured plates.

An account of the voyage of the Alceste to China with Lord Amherst's embassy, by the ship's surgeon M'Leod. 'The Alceste reached Rio de Janeiro in 1816, and then proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope. After a short visit there, Batavia was touched … after which the Alceste continued on to China. While the matters of the embassy were proceeding, the ships sailed on an expedition for the survey and exploration of the west coast of Korea and the Ryukyu Islands … On the return journey, after taking Lord Amherst on board at Macao, Manila was visited, and then, in Gaspar Strait off the coast of Sumatra, the Alceste struck a submerged reef and became a total loss. The crew and passengers reached the small adjacent island of Pulo Leat safely. Lord Amherst proceeded to Batavia to fetch help while the sailors fortified their island retreat, named Fort Maxwell after their captain. A long and vivid account is given of their experiences, of how they were attacked by Malay pirates, and of their final rescue. On the return voyage, St Helena was visited, and an interesting account is given of an interview with Napoleon. The final plate, vividly portraying Fort Maxwell, is not present in the first edition.

CONDITION
A good complete copy of the second edition. The leather binding is in good condition. Endpapers good. Boston library bookplate to front inside board. All contents present and pages in good condition throughout and free from foxing. Perhaps just a little age-toning to the outer margins of the first and last few pages. All 5 hand-coloured plates present and in good condition. See images for details. Overall a very good copy.

(Loc : Blue Shelves 4, 2nd up)