ELLIS, Henry [1721-1806]. Voyage De La Baye De Hudson. Fait en 1746 & 1747… 2 Volumes. 12mo. pp. 3 p.l., lvi, 182, [4]; 2 p.l., 319. with half-titles. folding engraved map & 10 folding engraved plates. woodcut ornaments & initials. contemporary mottled calf, gilt backs (spine ends worn, lower front joints of Vol. I starting, outer margins of outer leaves browned). Paris: Ballard fils, 1749.
First Edition of the French Translation. Ellis served as hydrographer, surveyor, and mineralogist on the expedition under Captain William Moor sent to discover the Northwest passage in 1746. The voyage was financed by private subscription, with Arthur Dobbs the leading subscriber and instigating force. The expedition decisively proved that no such passage from Hudson’s Bay existed and contributed to the lapse of British interest in the subject until 1816. The main narrative is preceded by a brief account of 23 English voyages to discover the northwest passage, made by Frobisher, Cabot, Weymouth, Hudson, James, &c. and a history of the rise of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Ellis’s work provided interesting and valuable information about the customs of the then relatively unknown Inuit, observations on the tides, and the ‘vagaries of the compass’. The attractive plates depict natural history subjects, Esquimaux costume and customs, and views.
Ellis was appointed governor of Nova Scotia in 1761 (to 1763) and was later involved in establishing a system of civil government for the province of Quebec.
Bell E68. Gagnon I 1256n. Leclerc 717 & Sabin 22313 (map & 7 plates). cfHill p. 94. cfJCB I 900. cfLande 1161. cfStreeter VI 3642. cfTPL 207. Winsor VIII p. 111.