‎"ELLIS, HENRY.‎
‎Reize naar de baai van Hudson, ter ontdekkinge van eenen Noord-wester doortogt, gedaan in de jaaren 1746. en 1747. - [SEARCH FOR THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE]‎

‎Leiden, Elie Luzac jun., 1750. 8vo. In contemporary half calf with five raised bands and richly gilt spine. Light wear to extremities, top of spine with small tear, otherwise a fine copy. XXXII, 440 pp. + 9 plates, primarily folded. ‎

Reference : 60192

‎First (and only) Dutch edition of the description of the voyage of the ships Dobbs and California to Hudson Bay in Canada (1746-1747), where they finally proved the nonexistence of a North West passage from Hudson Bay. ""The first part contains a synopsis of twenty-three English voyages to discover the Northwest Passage, a history of the rise of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the discovery attempted from New England. The second part gives an account of a voyage under Captains Moor and Francis Smith, financed by private subscription, with Arthur Dobbs the leading subscriber. Ellis, also a subscriber, was hydrographer, surveyor, and mineralogist on the expedition, which proved, finally, the nonexistence of a Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay. The voyage led to a rapid decline of British interest in the search for a Northwest Passage, which was not revived until 1816. The work includes many valuable observations on tides, on the vagaries of the compass, and on the customs of the Eskimos, people then practically unknown"" (Hill – referring the the original English edition from 1749). Sabin 22315‎