A Voyage to Hudson’s Bay, By the Dobbs Galley and California, in the Years 1746 and 1747, for Discovering a North West Passage; with an Accurate Survey of the Coast, and a Short Natural History of the Country. Together with a Fair View of the Facts and Arguments from which the Future Finding of Such a Passage is Rendered Probable. First Edition.London. 1748. xxviii,336pp. plus folding map and nine plates (five of them folding and most with two images per plate). Later three-quarter calf and marbled boards, rebacked in cloth. Some tanning, occasional dust soiling or light foxing. Good. "The first part contains a synopsis of twenty- three English voyages to discover the Northwest Passage, a history of the rise of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the discovery attempted from New England. The second part gives an account of a voyage under Captains Moor and Francis Smith, financed by private subscription, with Arthur Dobbs the leading subscriber. Ellis, also a subscriber, was hydrographer, surveyor, and mineralog

London, Whitridge 1748. Contemporary Calf Gilt, pp. xxviii, 336 pp. plus folding map and nine plates of which 5 are folding, a very nice copy. One of the most important works concerning the search for the North West Passage. "The first part contains a synopsis of twenty- three English voyages to discover the Northwest Passage, a history of the rise of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the discovery attempted from New England. The second part gives an account of a voyage under Captains Moor and Francis Smith, financed by private subscription, with Arthur Dobbs the leading subscriber. Ellis, also a subscriber, was hydrographer, surveyor, and mineralogist on the expedition, which proved, finally, the nonexistence of a Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay. The voyage led to a rapid decline of British interest in the search for a Northwest Passage, which was not revived until 1816. The work includes many valuable observations on tides, on the vagaries of the compass, and on the customs of the Eskimos, people then practically unknown" - Hill. The attractive plates depict Eskimos canoeing and hunting seals; birds, fish, mammals, and animals of the area, including the horned owl, pelican, wolverine, porcupine, white bear, sea horse, whale, and sea unicorn; and views of Douglas Harbor, Wager Bay, Cape Walsingham, and the Island of Resolution, among others.