Forum Auctions
Lot 114
Tea.- "Friend to the Public" Tea Purchaser's Guide, first edition, some autograph corrections and annotations, one to title, light occasional spotting, first and last pp. browned, G. Kearsley, 1785 bound after Deane (John) A Narrative of the Ship-wreck of the Nottingham Galley, woodcut head-piece and initial, shaved at fore-edge with partial loss to text, some staining to inner margin, occasional foxing, 1738 and East-Bourne: Being a Descriptive Account of that Village, in the County of Sussex, and its Environs, engraved folding map and 2 plates, half-title a little soiled, gutter cracked, Denew & Grant, for Hooper, 1787 and 4 others, including The Adventures of Telemachus and 3 plays, together 7 works in 1 vol., upper hinge a little cracked, contemporary calf-backed boards, upper joint with old repair, worn with loss to spine ends, 8vo. *** The first a scarce work which last appeared at auction in 1967. The unnamed author is described as having "been many years in the East India Company's service, particularly in the tea department" and such sections as "Conduct of Tea-Dealers", "History of Tea" and the list of types of tea provide a unique insight into the development of the burgeoning tea trade and its associated colonialism. The second work is concerning the shipwreck of the Nottingham Galley on Boon Island off the coast of Maine in 1710, and the survival of the crew through cannibalism. After nearly two months they were rescued and the crew published an account accusing the commander Deane and his brother of deliberately wrecking the ship as an insurance fraud. This is Deane's reply which went through several editions, all of which are rare.
