Description:

"NOTES ON THE LOSS OF THE SHIP 'ONTARIO'"
Bound manuscript log book: "Notes on the Loss of the Ship 'Ontario'", by Captain Frederic Augustus DePeyster, 90pp. 4to., a ship's log collecting DePeyster's handwritten accounts of the loss of his ship in 1821 and his efforts to ensure that its cargo reaches its final destination. The log opens with an inventory of the personal effects of a sailor aboard the Ontario who has died after falling from the topsail yard while outbound from Canton in 1820, and the prices paid for them by his ship-mates. The next few pages contain retained copies of bills of wages, listing the Ontario's crew and indicating that she was carrying bales of cloth, barrels of furs, currency and "quicksilver" (mercury) at the time of her loss. Beginning on page six is an account of her loss, dated Jan. 3, 1820, in part: "... arrived Saturday the thirtieth day December eighteen hundred & twenty off the harbour of Delhi [Dili] a Portuguese settlement in the N.E. part of the island of Timor where after having one... Pilot on board stood in for the above mentioned harbour being short of water & other necessaries for the continuation of the voyage... Tuesday January 2nd, 1821. At four A.M. ... sent ashore for the pilot ... who came on board and proceeded to warp the ship out ... at seven a light sea breeze came in directly ahead ... fouled the top Gall and sails ... a very heavy swell heaving on the reef. The Cap. now asked the pilot whether he had not best drop the ship in again, to which he replied in the negative ... at this moment a breeze took the ship aback and ... before we could succeed in bringing her up her stern struck several times on the coral reef which secures the entrance of the Harbour ... succeeded once more in heaving her afloat - her stern swinging once more on the reef she again struck abaft ... the stern striking very hard knocked off the rudder. Immediately sounded the pumps and found her making water very fast, hoisted our ensign union down & in a short time received every assistance from the shore. As we had now lost all hopes of the safety of the ship and found the water gaining fast upon us we lost no time in saving all the specie which was sent on shore in the long boats and deposited in the fort for safe keeping ... At 10 o'clock all hands left the ship except the Cap. and four men as she was now in such a state as to render it unsafe to remain longer on board. At 1 she beat over the reef and drifted towards the shore and within a short distance from it where she laid full of water and almost upright..." The rest of the log details the unlucky DePeyster's efforts to transport his cargo the rest of the way to Canton. He purchases a schooner, the Lucifer, in which he and his remaining crew sail to Surabaya. During the voyage, several members of his crew contract an unnamed fever, with one eventually dying. At Surabaya, he contracts the brig Pocahontas to carry his cargo the rest of the way to China, and includes a copy of this contract. Copies of several other letters from DePeyster to his friends and family in America detailing the circumstances of the wreck are also included. The original documents have been secured in a modern binding, very good and legible overall. SOLD WITH: "The 'Fan Kwae' at Canton Before Treaty Days, 1825-1844, By An Old Resident", by William C. Hunter (London: Kegan Paul, Tench, &Co.), 1882, 157pp. 8vo., an account of life in Canton at a time when it was the only port in China open to foreign visitors and residents, written by an American traveler. The author mentions the wreck of the Ontario and its aftermath on page seven. The volume is bound in black cloth boards, with the title and decoration in gilt on the front cover, and the ex libris bookplates of Warren and Frederic A. Delano on the front pastedown and flyleaf. The binding is split at the half-title, and the title page and frontispiece bear some moderate foxing, else very good. Two pieces

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

November 17, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 26.5% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000