Lot 95: WILLYAMS, Cooper (1762-1816). A Voyage up the Mediterranean in his Majesty’s...

WILLYAMS, Cooper (1762-1816). A Voyage up the Mediterranean in his Majesty’s Ship the Swiftsure, one of the Squadron under the Command of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson … with a Description of the Battle of the Nile. London: T. Bensley, 1802.

First edition of "the first, the most particular, and the most authentic account" of the Battle of the Nile, a large-paper copy (ODNB). The topographer and artist Willyams served as chaplain on board the Swiftsure, part of Sir Horatio Nelson's squadron in the Mediterranean in 1798-99. His sketches chronicle the coasts during the Napoleonic Wars, and include much commentary on the Ottoman forces in North Africa—sometime allies of the British against Napoleon. The work was also issued in regular folio and quarto sizes. Abbey Travel 196; Blackmer 1813; Atabey 1339 (2d ed).

Folio (480 x 340mm). Engraved dedication, double-page map, and 41 plates including one plan (a few scattered spots). Contemporary calf gilt, all edges gilt, small gilt motifs of pyramids, an anchor, and a ship (rebacked to style with new endpapers, minor scuffs to boards).