The Narrative of Captain David Woodard and Four Seamen, Who Lost Their Ship While in a Boat at Sea, and Surrendered Themselves up to the Malays, in the Island of Celebes; Containing an Interesting Account Of their Sufferings from Hunger and various Hardships, and their Escape from the Malays, after a Captivity of Two Years and a Half: Also an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Country, and a Description of the Harbours and Coast, &c. Together with an Introduction and an Appendix, containing Narratives of various Escapes from Shipwrecks, under great Hardships and Abstinence; holding out a Valuable Seaman's Guide, And the Importance of Union, Confidence, and Perseverance in the Midst of Distress.

WOODARD, David; VAUGHAN, William (ed.).

Published by London: J. Johnson, 1804

About this Item

First edition, presented by the editor to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, as detailed in a near-contemporary secretarial inscription on the front free endpaper. A further secretarial note on the title page reads "With corrections to be kept." The corrections, perhaps made by William Vaughan himself, date from before the volume was rebound by the society and make small changes to the wording of the introduction (pp. xiii-xl). Some of these are consistent with changes made for the second edition (1805). The society's stamp is found on the front pastedown and the title page. "In January of 1793, Woodard sailed in the American ship Enterprise from Batavia, bound for Manila. Sent off in a boat with five others to purchase provisions from another ship, they found themselves separated from their own ship after a storm. They were forced to land on Celebes, where one of them was murdered by the Malays and the others taken into captivity. They escaped with the help of a Mohammedan priest and gradually made their way to Macassar and then back to Batavia" (Hill). Vaughan was a director of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation and an advocate for the interest of common seamen. He dedicated the work to his maternal uncle, Captain Benjamin Hallowell, one of Nelson's "band of brothers" who served at the Battle of the Nile. Vaughan was involved in trying to establish a society "for promoting the means of preserving ships and lives in moments of danger and accidents", a manifesto for which is included as an appendix. Hill 1912; Huntress 144C. Octavo (210 x 137 mm), pp. xl, 252. Silhouette portrait frontispiece, double-page engraved plate, folding map of island of Celebes, larger folding map of western coast of island. Bound with half-title. Near-contemporary green cloth, original spine label laid down, edges sprinkled red. Cloth lightly rubbed, some foxing to plates and maps: very good.

Seller Inventory # 180345

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Narrative of Captain David Woodard and Four Seamen, Who Lost Their Ship While in a Boat at Sea, and Surrendered Themselves up to the Malays, in the Island of Celebes; Containing an Interesting Account Of their Sufferings from Hunger and various Hardships, and their Escape from the Malays, after a Captivity of Two Years and a Half: Also an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Country, and a Description of the Harbours and Coast, &c. Together with an Introduction and an Appendix, ...
• Publisher: London: J. Johnson, 1804
• Edition: 1st Edition