LINDLEY, Thomas. Narrative of a Voyage to Brasil; Terminating in the Seizure of a British Vessel, and the Imprisonment of the Author and the Ship Crew, by the Portuguese. With General Sketches of the Country, Its Natural Productions, Colonial Inhabitants…

LINDLEY, Thomas. Narrative of a Voyage to Brasil; Terminating in the Seizure of a British Vessel, and the Imprisonment of the Author and the Ship Crew, by the Portuguese. With General Sketches of the Country, Its Natural Productions, Colonial Inhabitants…LINDLEY, Thomas. Narrative of a Voyage to Brasil; Terminating in the Seizure of a British Vessel, and the Imprisonment of the Author and the Ship Crew, by the Portuguese. With General Sketches of the Country, Its Natural Productions, Colonial Inhabitants, &c. and a Description of the City and Provinces of St. Salvadore and Porto Seguro. To which is added a correct Table of the Latitude and Longotude of the Ports on the Coast of Brasil, Table of

LINDLEY, Thomas. Narrative of a Voyage to Brasil; Terminating in the Seizure of a British Vessel, and the Imprisonment of the Author and the Ship Crew, by the Portuguese. With General Sketches of the Country, Its Natural Productions, Colonial Inhabitants, &c. and a Description of the City and Provinces of St. Salvadore and Porto Seguro. To which is added a correct Table of the Latitude and Longotude of the Ports on the Coast of Brasil, Table of Exchage, &c. London: Printed for J. Johnson. 1805.

8vo. Later worn and rebacked calf; pp. [iii]-xxxi, 298, bound without half-title and errata leaf, a little toning to text, otherwise good' engraved armorial bookplate of John Sheepshanks (1787–1863), British manufacturer and art collector.

Very rare first edition Following the peace treaty of 1801 between England and France, and as a result Capetown being flooded with goods, English merchants looked for other markets. Lindley took a ship to Saint Helena and then Bahia but on arriving in Brazil he was arrested for smuggling and imprisoned for a year. He was allowed to wander around the town and his observations of the people and their customs resulted in this account. Of particular note is his description of Father Agostinho Gomes's library, a unique glimpse of a private colonial library at that time.

"The first description of Brazil by an Englishman in the nineteenth century" including "very picturesque details concerning the calamitous condition of the Bahian forts ... the city, its monuments, the commerce, the intimate lives of its inhabitants, their behaviour, habits, etc.' (Borba de Moraes p. 485).

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