Narrative, of a Five Years' Expedition, Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the wild coast of South America; from the year 1772, to 1777: elucidating the History of that Country, and describing its Productions... with an account of the Indians of Guiana, & Negroes of Guinea

London: Printed for J. Johnson, (1806).. Second edition, two volumes bound in one, 4to, xviii, 423, (5), iv, 419, (5) pp. Engraved title pages and 81 plates, including 3 folding maps and a folding view, the latter and one of the maps with a closed tear to a fold crease, frontispiece and volume I title with contemporary signatures and light damp stains to the top and bottom edges, some foxing throughout, volume I title cut close to the lower edge with partial loss of the imprint. Contemporary diced calf, corners worn, neatly rebacked. "...one of the most detailed descriptions ever written of an eighteenth-century slave plantation society... The heavily edited first edition distorted Stedman's views on race, slavery, and social justice, and turned them more towards a pro-slavery position. Softened or deleted in the 1796 publication were his admiration for Africans-their institutions, morals, hygiene-including the rebel slaves; his frank depiction of sex between European men and African women; and many of his remarks about the pervasiveness of misconduct and debauchery of European planters. Nonetheless, the Narrative had significant contemporary impact..." (ODNB). 16 of the plates were engraved by William Blake, whose name also appears on the Subscriber's List. Bentley 499B.