FIRST EDITION, fourth issue (see footnote online), 2 volumes in one, 4to (263 x 207mm.), half-titles, 4 engraved maps and 12 plates, some folding, a few early corrections in ink, contemporary half calf, speckled boards, red edges, explanatory pen notes to endpapers, a few minor tears or repairs, scattered spotting or staining, binding slightly rubbed, old repairs

Cook A11-12; Hill (2004) 410

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Dalrymple's interest moved to the hypothetical southern continent in 1776 and 1777, so as to develop his knowledge of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in order to continue his pursuit of China trade, on which he been snubbed by the East India Company in 1765 and 1766" (Andrew Cook). "An Historical Collection was intended to stir up enthusiasm for the project of discovering and exploring the great southern continent (Terra Australis Incognita)... Although most of the first volume is composed of narratives of Spanish explorers of the South Pacific, Dalrymple also included navigational information on the South Seas and the Solomon Islands, and some of his own observations of the natural curiosities of Sulu... The narrative included, among others, the voyages of Magellan, Ferdinand Grijalva, Juan Fernandes (whom Dalrymple identified as the discoverer of the great southern continent), Adelanto Alvarado Mendana de Neyras, and Pedro Fernandez de Quiroz. Dalrymple did not wish for or anticipate a British conquest of the new continent. His vision of British oceanic expansion was based on trade rather than conquest and colonization... The second volume was devoted to Dutch voyagers [and] includes accounts of the voyages of Le Mair and Schouten in 1616, Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642, and Jacob Roggeswein in 1722" (Speake, Literature of Travel and Exploration, p.306).

This regular trade edition was issued in 1770. The different issues of the first volume have different title pages and preliminary materials. The dedication in the first issue, dated April 1, 1769, includes a thinly disguised attack on Captain Samuel Wallis, in which Dalrymple used the phrase "who left the arms of a calypso." Andrew Cook describes the fourth issue as follows: "New half-title page, new 1770 title page and dedication of 1 January 1770... with added contents page for volumes I and II together... The fourth issue, distinguished by the presence of the contents leaf, dates from 1771 or later, and was connected with the ongoing sale of the two volumes of An Historical Collection as one. Relatively few examples have the contents leaf present."