Loss of the American Brig Commerce, Wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, in the month of August, 1815. With an Account of Tombuctoo, and of the Hitherto Undiscovered Great City of Wassanah.

London: John Murray, 1817. First edition. Leather. Very Good Indeed. 12" by 9.5". Not Stated. The first UK edition of Captain James Riley's shocking account of the wrecking of his ship and subsequent enslavement of him and his crew by marauding Sahrawi natives. The uncommon first UK edition of American merchant ship Captain James Riley's account of the 1815 wreckage of the Commerce. Illustrated with a large folding map frontispiece.First published earlier in the same year in America, under the title 'An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce'.Riley's shocking account of the events following the running aground of the merchant ship off the coast of Morocco in August 1815, and the capture and enslavement of Riley and the remaining crew members by local tribes. Rilely's account is one of extreme dehydration, severe starvation, and brutality as they roamed the Sahara desert with their captors.A smart copy of the first UK edition of a work quoted by Abraham Lincoln as one of the six most influential works he read in his youth. Rebound in quarter calf, with paper covered boards and endpapers renewed. Externally, exceptionally smart. Title page and folding map lightly age toned, with pages otherwise generally clean and bright, with only the odd spot. Very Good Indeed