Shipwreck, The

by FALCONER, William (1732-1769)

Price: $365.00
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London: Printed for T. Cadell in the Strand, MDCCLXXXV, 1785. Full Calf. Near Fine. The Sixth Edition, corrected. 8vo; [4], 148pp, with two magnificent folding plates, one of a merchant ship labeling all her masts, yards, sails and rigging; the other a map tracing the ship's voyage through the Greek islands. Contemporary full calf, the spine in six compartments with five raised band ruled in gilt and a red morocco label (chipped on two corners) lettered in gilt; book label of Edmund Lees Coulton to the front paste down. The binding, expertly reinforced at the joints, is tight and strong, the pages clean and crisp (save for the rear blanks, which are lightly foxed), the plates resplendent. ESTC Citation No. N25745. A poem in three cantos (first published in 1762), drawn from the author's experience as second mate aboard a merchant ship that was driven off course by a furious gale and wrecked at Sunium in Greece en route from Alexandria to Venice; Falconer was one of three survivors. In 1769, seven years after the first printing of only 250 copies, Falconer was lost at sea off the east coast of Africa while sailing to India. "The popularity of The Shipwreck derives from its unique character as a technically detailed seafaring verse narrative, full of pathos and sublimity, from the pen of a professional sailor. . . . It was highly praised by later writers, including Byron and Coleridge, and its popularity continued into the mid-nineteenth century." (ODNB)

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