Item #B5887 The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.
The First English Sea Atlas of America
[Americana] / [Atlas].
London, Printed for Mount and Davidson, 1794.

The English Pilot. [The Fourth Book.] Describing The West-India Navigation, from Hudson’s Bay to the River Amazones.

Folio [47.7 x 31 cm], 66 pp. (with pagination errors), with (26) engraved maps (21 of which are double-page or folding), the first chart with letterpress text attached (as called for), numerous woodcuts in the text. Bound in in contemporary sheep, rebacked, blind-tooled borders to upper and lower covers. Minor rubbing to covers. Some spotting to the fourth map (Verner no. 62) and adjacent letterpress pages, small tear to fold of map 10 (Verner no. 60), two small circular mends to title page not affecting text, otherwise remarkably well preserved.

A spectacular copy of the final edition of the English Pilot, The Fourth Book, the first wholly English sea atlas of American waters. The work was sufficiently in demand to justify 37 legitimate editions from 1689 to 1794 and three pirated editions. All editions are rare. During the history of this title its charts underwent numerous changes. The first edition contained only 18 maps whereas this 1794 final edition contained 26.

The English Pilot was the first major sea-atlas produced in England. In its final form it consisted of five separate books, and The Fourth Book was the first wholly English sea-atlas of American waters. Although the idea originated with John Seller, he was involved in producing only the first two books. William Fisher and John Thornton produced The Fourth Book in 1689, and their successors Mount and Page continued to print it for over 100 years … Seller’s proposal for a ‘Sea Waggoner’ resulted in the production of The English Pilot, which consisted of five separate volumes with a common generic title. Book One included the southern navigation and Book Two the northern. Book Three was concerned with the Orient, Book Four with America, and Book Five contained Africa. Each book or volume has its own independent publishing history and appeared in numerous editions. The five separate books constitute a set only by virtue of the general title, and under that title The English Pilot is the first great sea-atlas produced in England. Of the five books, the fourth has the longest publication history and is the best known” (Verner, p. v).

Throughout its history, The Fourth Book showed very few changes in textual matter, and the content of the volume was established between the editions of 1706 and 1721.

The present example of the 1794 edition is complete and contains the following maps (see Verner, pp. xv-xx, for full list of editions and charts from 1689 to 1794):

1. A New and Correct Chart of the Western and Southern Oceans Showing the Variations of the Compass (with letterpress text attached)

2. A New and Correct Chart of the North Part of America from New Found Land to Hudson’s Bay

3. A New Generall Chart for the West Indies of E. Wright’s Projection

4. A New and Accurate Chart of the Vast Atlantic or Western Ocean … by Eman. Bowen

5. Harbour of Casco Bay … Capt. Cyprian Southicke … 1720 … Em. Bowen

6. A New and Correct Chart of the Coast Line of Newfoundland from Cape Raze to Cape Bionavista

7. Island of St. Peters …

8. Chart of the South East Coast of Newfoundland

9. New and Correct Chart of the Sea Coast of New-England from Cape Cod to Casco Bay … Henry Barnsley

10. A Map of the Coast of New England from Staten Island to the Island of Breton … Capt. Cyprian Southack

11. A Chart of New York Harbour with the Banks …

12. Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, East & West New Jersey …

13. A Draught of Virginia … by Mark Tiddeman

14. Barbados (copperplate in text)

15. A New Mapp of the Island of St. Christophers … Survey taken by Mr. Andrew Norwood

16. A Large Draft of the Island of Antegua (copperplate in the text)

17. A Draught of South Carolina and Georgia from Sewee to St. Estaca by Andrew Hughes

18. A Correct Chart of the Caribee Islands

19. A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage … by C. Price

20. A Draught of the West End of the Island of Porto Rico …

21. A New & Correct Chart of Cuba, Streights of Bahama, Windward Passage …

22. A New and Correct Draught of the Bay of Matanzas … by Rob.t Pearson

23. Bermudas (copperplate in text)

24. A New and Correct Chart of the Island of Jamaica

25. A Chart of the Coast of Guayana … By R. Waddington

26. A New and Correct Chart of the Trading Part of the West Indies

The Art Loss Register certifies that, to the best of their knowledge, this item has not been registered as stolen or missing on their database, nor has a claimant reported this item to them as a loss between 1933 and 1945 (dated 21 March 2024).



* The English Pilot The Fourth Book (Amsterdam, 1967), with an introduction by Coolie Verner.

Price: $30,000.00

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