Full title: The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captaine John Smith, in Europe, Asia, Africke, and America; Beginning About the Yeere 1593, and Continued to this Present 1629; [and] The General Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Iles, with the Names of the Adventures, Planters, and Governours from Their First Beginning, 1584 to This Present 1626. Published in Richmond by Franklin Press in 1819. 2 volumes.
Originally printed in London in 1629, this book tells the history of the settlement of the colony in Virginia and the narrative of the adventures of one of Capt. John Smith
Each volume includes finely executed wood engravings including two large foldouts: One features nine action-packed panels drawn from Smith’s travels—depicting battles, daring escapes, and encounters across continents and the second is a striking wood-engraved map of Virginia, adapted from Smith’s own original chart, complete with detailed insets of Native American villages and scenes. This is very similar to a fabulous hand-colored map we offered a few months ago.
Volume 1 also includes a frontispiece portrait of Captain John Smith and volume 2 includes the engraving of Smith’s personal crest, underscoring the status and pride with which he viewed his accomplishments.
Note that the light green paper in the upper left-hand corner of one of the fold out illustrations is a repair.
Shipping: $25. Please allow two weeks for shipping.
Historical background on John Smith
While some might question the veracity of some of the claims Smith made, if even half are true, his was an incredible life.
He was born in or about 1579 and set off to sea at the age of 16 after his father died. Here's the Wikipedia description of what happened next:
"He served as a mercenary in the army of Henry IV of France against the Spaniards, fighting for Dutch independence from King Philip II of Spain. He then went to the Mediterranean Sea, where he engaged in trade and piracy, and later fought against the Ottoman Turks in the Long Turkish War. He was promoted to cavalry captain while fighting for the Austrian Habsburgs in Hungary in the campaign of Michael the Brave in 1600 and 1601.
"After the death of Michael the Brave, he fought for Radu Șerban in Wallachia against Ottoman vassal Ieremia Movilă. Smith reputedly killed and beheaded three Ottoman challengers in single combat duels, for which he was knighted by the Prince of Transylvania and given a horse and a coat of arms showing three Turks' heads.
"In 1602, he was wounded in a skirmish with the Crimean Tatars, captured, and, taken to a slave market, and then sold. He was sent as an enslaved gift to a woman in Constantinople (Istanbul), Charatza Tragabigzanda, who sent him to perform agricultural work and to be converted to Islam in Rostov. During one of the regular beatings his slavemaster gave him, Smith killed the slavemaster and escaped from Ottoman Empire territory to Muscovy. Smith traveled through the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Europe, and Africa, reaching England in 1604."
All that by the age of 27.
Next came sailing to Virginia to establish Jamestown.