Item #32435 A narrative of the loss of the Kent East Indiaman, by fire, in the Bay of Biscay, on the 1st March, 1825. In a letter to a friend. By a passenger. Duncan McGregor, Sir.
A narrative of the loss of the Kent East Indiaman, by fire, in the Bay of Biscay, on the 1st March, 1825. In a letter to a friend. By a passenger

A narrative of the loss of the Kent East Indiaman, by fire, in the Bay of Biscay, on the 1st March, 1825. In a letter to a friend. By a passenger

Edinburgh: Waugh & Innes [et al.], 1825. First edition, thin 12mo, pp. 78; very good copy in later calf-backed marbled boards, gilt-lettered spine; nice copy. One of one of the most famous of all sea disasters. The text is signed "Servatus," generally identified as Sir Duncan McGregor, a major of the 31st Regiment and one of the 640 people on board when the ship encountered a storm in the Bay of Biscay. "On March 1 an officer checking the spirit room dropped a light just as a cask stove. The spirits at once caught fire and the flames were soon out of control. Fortunately, the brig Cambria was soon sighted, and three of the six boats on the Kent were used to transport her people to the brig." In the end, 568 of those on board were saved -- an extremely miraculous accomplishment given the stormy weather and the difficulty in getting to small boats from a large ship. One soldier's wife even gave birth to a child an hour after reaching the Cambria, and both mother and child were doing well when they reached Falmouth on March 4. With a 16-p. appendix containing pertinent correspondence following the disaster. Three editions were published in 1825, and another the following year. Huntress 227. Item #32435

Price: $275.00

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