History of the Azores, or Western Islands; containing an account of the government, laws, and religion, the manners, ceremonies, and character of the inhabitants: and demonstrating the importance of these valuable islands to the British Empire
Thomas Ashe (1770-1835) led a somewhat rackety existence, embroiled in a series of scandals (allegations of dueling, embezzlement, attempted blackmail of Queen Caroline) and he died in reduced circumstances in the fashionable spa town of Bath.
Ashe spent time in the Azores on his way back to Britain from America (whence he sent the first known mammoth specimens, described in his 1806 treatise Memoirs of a Mammoth) and attempted to interest the British government in increasing its commercial and political influence in the islands.
Condition & Materials
4to. pp. viii, vi, 310 + 5 engraved views and 3 maps, of which 2 are folding, engraved by Henry Cooper. Light spotting, author’s name inked in at the end of the preface.
Later 19th century tan half calf over cloth, somewhat rubbed and worn, faintly lettered at the foot of the spine ‘British Consulate Ponta Delgada’ (the capital of the Azores).
