Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny on Board H.M. Ship Bounty. Minutes of the Court Martial. Bligh's Answer to Certain Assertions. Edward Christian's Short Reply.
Facsimile Edition
Published by Georgian House: Melbourne 1952
Limited Edition Copy #13 of 1,000 Only
"Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny on Board H.M. Ship Bounty brings together four of the most important contemporary documents concerning the celebrated 1789 mutiny and its aftermath. Published in Melbourne by Georgian House for the Australiana Society in 1952, this substantial facsimile volume reproduces William Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny together with the Minutes of the Court Martial, Bligh's Answer to Certain Assertions, and Edward Christian's Short Reply. Rather than a later retelling, the collection allows the extraordinary events surrounding the Bounty to be followed through the words, accusations and defences of those directly connected with the affair.
The first work reproduces Bligh's original 1790 Narrative, recounting the seizure of HMS Bounty by Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers and Bligh's remarkable subsequent survival voyage. Cast adrift with eighteen loyal crewmen in the ship's launch, Bligh navigated approximately 3,600 nautical miles from Tofua to Timor under extraordinarily difficult conditions. The facsimile preserves the appearance of the eighteenth-century original and includes the important charts and folding technical drawing of the Bounty's launch, giving the volume considerable interest for collectors of maritime exploration and Pacific history.
Equally fascinating are the documents that follow. The 1794 Minutes of the Court Martial record proceedings against ten men charged with mutiny, while Bligh's published answer addresses allegations made concerning his own conduct. Edward Christian—elder brother of mutiny leader Fletcher Christian—then presents the opposing case in his scarce 1795 Short Reply, creating an unusually compelling documentary exchange over responsibility for one of maritime history's most controversial episodes. The four originals reproduced here date respectively from 1790, 1794, 1794 and 1795; the publisher noted that, with the exception of Bligh's Narrative, original copies were exceedingly rare.
This handsome 1952 Australiana Society facsimile edition was strictly limited to only 1,000 numbered copies, this being the remarkably early Copy No. 13. The reproductions were prepared from copies held in Australian institutional collections, principally Sydney's Mitchell Library and the National Library in Canberra, and the book formed the second and final volume of the Australiana Facsimiles series. Bound in dark morocco-style boards with gilt decoration and lettering to the spine, this copy also carries the attractive Ex Libris bookplate of Mark Ashkenazy. An imposing and highly collectable Australian-produced edition combining Bligh, the Bounty mutiny, Pacific exploration and early Australian maritime history, with the very low limitation number adding particular appeal."
General wear to covers and some minor peeling to leather spine as shown. Book is otherwise clean with no inscriptions. A nice copy in good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
