Beschreibung:

GAULD, George (1732-1782). An Account of the Surveys of Florida, &c. with Directions for Sailing from Jamaica or the West Indies, by the West End of Cuba, and through the Gulph of Florida . London: W[illiam] Faden, 1790.
GAULD, George (1732-1782). An Account of the Surveys of Florida, &c. with Directions for Sailing from Jamaica or the West Indies, by the West End of Cuba, and through the Gulph of Florida . London: W[illiam] Faden, 1790. 4 o (268 x 208 mm). Half-title. Engraved folding map "A General Chart to accompany Mr. Gauld's Surveys of the Florida Keys &c." (240 x 306 mm) (partly split along one fold and separated along gutter). 20th-century blue quarter cloth, contemporary plain blue wrappers bound in. Provenance : Long Island Historical Society (embossed stamp on half-title and last leaf). FIRST EDITION. According to the Postscript: "It was Mr. Gauld's intention, had it not been for the late unhappy war, to have continued his survey along the coast of East Florida from Cayo Largo to Cape Canaveral; to have ascertained the situation of that Cape and the contiguous Shoals with precision... But from the year 1776 the American Privateers were so numerous on that part of the coast, that no work of the kind could with any degree of safety or propriety be carried on there..." It goes on to describe the plundering parties that went down the Mississippi to attack the "Loyal Inhabitants of West Florida." After the siege of Pensacola, at which Gauld was present, he was captured and conveyed to New York and then returned to England where he soon died. RARE: according to American Book Prices Current , this is the last copy to appear at auction, when it was sold previously at Sotheby's Parke Bernet, 30 January 1973, lot 60. Howes G-82; Sabin 26763.