London: Printed, and Sold by W. Meadows, et al., 1729. First edition. 8vo. xvi, 464 pp. Illustrated with large engraved folding map and five engraved plates. Full contemporary speckled brown calf, red morocco spine label, stamped in gilt, front board starting, rubbing to extremities and boards, spine ends chipped; red speckled edges; ownership signature of Cotton Symonds, Sheriff of Norfolk, at top of title-page; scattered small separation on map folds, repair to fold in same. Archon 511

Uncommon first edition of this semi-truthful tale of shipwreck and adventure. Drury was an English sailor, who at the age of 17 was shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar, where he spent the next 15 years. Upon his return to England, he published the above account. An immediate hit, in later years its authenticity has come into question, with claims that it was based on other work, and speculation that it was written or ghost-written by Daniel Defoe, although recent scholarship has argued for its authenticity.