Lot Details
Lot 1069
BARRINGTON, GEORGE A Voyage to Botany Bay with a description of the Country, Manners, Customs, Religion &c of the Natives.
London: C. Lowndes for H.D. Symonds, [c.1800]. BOUND WITH: A Sequel to Barrington's Voyage to New South Wales... 1801. 2 volumes bound in 1. First and only combined edition, second issue. Modern dark blue quarter morocco, marbled paper over boards, gilt spine title, edges sprinkled red. 7 x 4 inches; Vol 1: [2],120 pp.; engraved frontispiece and title page; Vol 2: [iii]-viii, 5-88, [6] pp. Short edge tears and chipping to frontispiece and title page, as well as to a few leaves at end of the second volume; light offsetting from frontispiece to title page; contents lightly toned with the occasional spot; library stamp of Mercantile Library, Philadelphia.
George Barrington was an infamous Irish pickpocket who in 1790, after many transgressions, was sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years. He travelled on the Third Fleet to the recently established penal colony in New South Wales, where he reformed, became head constable in Paramatta, and was eventually pardoned for his crimes. However, Barrington is not these books' author. Publishers used his well-known name and embellished his story with impunity, using a variety of other available sources to form the bulk of their narrative. Nonetheless, these two works were some of the most important sources of popular knowledge about New South Wales, satisfying the public's curiosity about the exotic faraway colony and the colorful adventures of its inhabitants. N. Garvey The Celebrated George Barrington (2008) AB21b (combined edition; calling for 6 preliminary pages in Sequel only, numbered to 'viii').
C
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