A Narrative of the Mutiny, on Board His Majestys Ship Bounty 1790.

Hardcover. Very Good. With a folding engraved plan, entitled A Copy of the Draught from which the Bountys Launch was built, by Mackenzie and 3 folding engraved charts, one printed on pale blue paper, by J. Walker after W. Harrison. 4to. Bound in ½-calf over marbled boards; spine with 5 gilt bands, speckled leaf edges. Printed in London For George Nicol, 1790. First Edition. With the initial 2 pages of advertisement. The advertisement acts as preface, and indicates the general circumstances before the narrative begins, which would later be elaborated on in A Voyage to the South Sea, published in 1792. The story of Fletcher Christians mutinous commandeering of the Bounty, and the setting adrift of Bligh and his 18 loyal crewmen on a 23-foot launch is a tale known to all. Bligh is now considered to have been an enlightened naval officer. Bountys log shows that Bligh resorted to punishments relatively sparingly. He scolded when other captains would have whipped, and whipped when other captains would have hanged. He was an educated man, deeply interested in science, convinced that good diet and sanitation were necessary for the welfare of his crew. He took a great interest in his crews exercise, was very careful about the quality of their food, and insisted upon the Bounty being kept very clean. He tried (unsuccessfully) to check the spread of venereal disease among the men. The historian John Beaglehole comments on Blighs major flaws: [He made] dogmatic judgements which he felt himself entitled to make; he saw fools about him too easily thin-skinned vanity was his curse through life [Bligh] never learnt that you do not make friends of men by insulting them. In October 1790, Bligh was honorably acquitted at the court-martial inquiring into the loss of the Bounty. His skill as a navigator and his courage as a seaman ensured his continued employment by the Admiralty, led to his election to the Royal Society, and to his appointment as governor of New South Wales. Binding is lightly scuffed; some chipping to head of spine; board corners slightly bumped. Corner of title page missing, affecting some letters. A few very small wormholes in upper margins to latter half of the volume, with some foxing to the final leaves and at the plates; some small occasional stains; o/w the leaves are generally clean and wide margined. A Nice Copy