ANSON (George). Voyage around the world. Amsterdam and Leipzig ; Paris, Charles-Antoine Jombert, [1749]. In-4, red morocco, triple gilt fillet, ornate spine, olive title-piece, fillets on the edges, interior roulette, starred paper lining and endpapers, gilt edges (period binding). First French edition of an important voyage to the South Seas. This official report, written by the chaplain of the squadron, was published in English in 1748 and in French the following year, in a translation by Élie de Joncourt. It is particularly interesting for Brazil, Patagonia and the Philippines, as well as Argentina, Peru, Mexico and China. The illustrations consist of 34 double-page or fold-out plates of views and maps. One of the great circumnavigations of the eighteenth century. Organised by the British government to attack the Spanish possessions in America, Admiral Anson's expedition set sail from St Helena, sailed to Madeira and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil, rounding the continent to Mexico, taking Paita (in present-day Peru) in the process. The ships then crossed to the Mariana Islands, arrived in Canton by capturing a galleon from Manila, and returned to England via Cape Town. Despite shipwrecks and heavy losses of men, the voyage proved to be important from a scientific point of view, thanks to the wealth of nautical observations made and the discovery of the value of citrus fruits in the fight against scurvy. A rare copy in contemporary red morocco. Binding restored: spine boards and boxes remounted on the original binding; light scattered foxing. Sabin, n°1637 - Borba de Moraes, I, 38 - Hill, n°1817 (English original).