The Shipwreck and Adventures of Monsieur Pierre Viaud, A Native of Bordeaux and Captain of a Ship. By Pierre Vaud. Translated from the French by Mrs. Griffin.

London: Printed for T. Davies, 1771. First English edition. First French edition published in 1768. Copper engraved frontispiece. Binding extremities rubbed. Very small portion of the head of spine worn away. Outer hinges cracked, but holding well. Intermittent foxing and offsetting. A few light marginal stains. Marginal archival tape repairs on G4, M4, P4, and Q1. A very good copy. Contemporary calf. Six paneled spine ruled in gilt with red morocco label. Octavo. xii, 276 pp. Item #16120

Jean Gaspard Dubois-Fontanelle's (1737-1812) book was long considered to be fiction; modern scholarship, however, confirms his narrative. Written under the pseudonym Pierre Viaud, it was initially published in French and followed by an English translation in 1771. Viaud's work is about the merchant brigantine Le Tigre, which was shipwrecked during a storm three hundred yards east of Dog Island on February 16th, 1766. Dubois-Fontanelle was a passenger on the ship, which was bound for New Orleans.

Howes V86; Sabin 99415.

Price: $950.00

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