{"product_id":"the-log-of-h-m-s-providence-1791-1793-limited-deluxe-edition","title":"The Log of H.M.S. Providence, 1791–1793 (Limited Deluxe Edition)","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBLIGH, William\u003c\/strong\u003e (preface Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma; intro. Stephen Walters \u0026amp; D. G. C. Allan). \u003cem\u003eThe Log of H.M.S. Providence, 1791–1793.\u003c\/em\u003e Guildford: Genesis Publications, 1976.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThick Folio. Half brown polished calf and green buckram cloth. Front cover with vignette of the breadfruit plant in gilt. Spine with raised bands, gilt-decorated compartments, titled in gilt on dark brown Morocco panel. Green speckled edges. Marbled endpapers. 951 pp. Colour collotype frontispiece reproducing Sydney Parkinson's breadfruit watercolour, with tissue guard. Five folding maps. Numerous black and white illustrations and facsimiles throughout. Complete reproduction of John Ellis's \u003cem\u003eA Description of the Mangostan and the Breadfruit\u003c\/em\u003e (1775); notes on the breadfruit plant by David Bellamy OBE. \u003cstrong\u003eLimited edition. Limited to 500 numbered copies, this being number 483.\u003c\/strong\u003e Bookplate of Milton Whitmont to front free endpaper. Facsimile of the manuscript held in the National Archives, Kew.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eTwo years after the mutiny that cast him adrift in an open boat, William Bligh (1754–1817) returned to the Pacific to complete the mission the \u003cem\u003eBounty\u003c\/em\u003e had failed to accomplish: the transport of breadfruit saplings from Tahiti to the West Indies, where it was hoped the fast-growing, calorie-dense fruit could provide cheap and reliable food for enslaved plantation workers. This second voyage, in command of HMS \u003cem\u003eProvidence\u003c\/em\u003e accompanied by the armed tender \u003cem\u003eAssistant\u003c\/em\u003e, ran from 1791 to 1793 and succeeded entirely where the first attempt had ended in disaster and mutiny — Bligh delivered his breadfruit plants to St Vincent and Jamaica without incident, vindicating both his seamanship and, to whatever extent such things can be vindicated, his character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eProvidence\u003c\/em\u003e voyage carries an additional and poignant historical weight: Bligh's log records his own attempts, made along the way, to trace the fate and whereabouts of Fletcher Christian and the \u003cem\u003eBounty\u003c\/em\u003e mutineers, noting with evident astonishment the reports reaching him of Christian's return to Tahiti in the \u003cem\u003eBounty\u003c\/em\u003e itself, \"to the very great astonishment of the Natives.\" The log is thus simultaneously the record of a successful and largely uneventful transport mission and a document of Bligh's continuing, unresolved reckoning with the mutiny that had defined his earlier career and his public reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThis Genesis Publications facsimile edition, reproduced from Bligh's original manuscript log held in the National Archives at Kew, is accompanied by a substantial scholarly and botanical apparatus: the complete reproduction of John Ellis's 1775 treatise on the breadfruit and mangosteen, contemporary notes on the breadfruit plant by the naturalist and broadcaster David Bellamy, and introductory essays by Stephen Walters, the recognised authority on Bligh's life, and D. G. C. Allan. The preface is contributed by Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma — a figure whose own distinguished naval career and lifelong engagement with British maritime history make him a fitting voice to introduce Bligh's second and more successful Pacific command.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThis copy bears the provenance of the Whitmont family in the bookplate of Milton Whitmont. The Whitmont family are documented among Australian collectors and have been the subject of scholarly study. Their library of exploration and Pacific history is well-known the be among the best collections within Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFine. \u003c\/strong\u003eSome very faint markings along edges of text block. Binding fine, well preserved. Slipcase shows only mild shelf wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease note: This is a large and heavy volume. Additional postage costs may apply. If so, we will contact you after purchase.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThis book is currently not on display in store.\u003cbr\u003eIf you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: \u003ca href=\"mailto:rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au\" title=\"Harry Hartog Rare Book Department\"\u003erarebooks@harryhartog.com.au\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Number: HH000671\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Bligh","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49839539650803,"sku":"1110003000750","price":1000.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0634\/4284\/5939\/files\/1_496c815f-a377-4251-80d8-9224c160f9eb.png?v=1783492312","url":"https:\/\/www.harryhartog.com.au\/products\/the-log-of-h-m-s-providence-1791-1793-limited-deluxe-edition","provider":"Harry Hartog Bookseller","version":"1.0","type":"link"}