Lot 80: POCOCK, William Innes (1783-1836). Five Views of the Island of St. Helena, from drawings taken

POCOCK, William Innes (1783-1836). Five Views of the Island of St. Helena, from drawings taken on the spot: to which is added a concise account of the island. London: printed by D.N. Shury, published by S. & J. Fuller, 1815 (plates watermarked 1813)

Oblong 2° (312 x 444mm). One page list of subscribers (57 names subscribing for 58 copies, including 12 'proof' copies). 5 hand-coloured aquatint plates by T. Sutherland after Pocock. (Light spotting to title and final leaf.) Original brown paper wrappers, letterpress title on upper cover within type-ornament border (rebacked, repairs to margins of covers), within a later cloth portfolio.

VERY RARE: no copies are listed as having sold at auction in the past twenty-five years, and the subscription list is limited to 58 copies. William Innes Pocock, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, was the second son of Nicholas Pocock (1740-1821) the renowned marine artist. As the text makes clear, the present work was published in an attempt to satisfy public interest in the island generated by the allies decision to exile Napoleon there, following his final defeat at Waterloo: 'as a place where [Napoleon]... may be securely confined, with a due regard to the national character for magnanimity, the dominions of Great Britain do not offer a more eligible place than St.Helena'. Abbey Travel I,310; Tooley 381.

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