A rare first edition copy of Matthew Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis is coming to auction next month and is likely to be popular with investors in Australian history.
The book relates the British captain's circumnavigation of Australia between 1801 and 1803 and his subsequent imprisonment in Mauritius by the French from 1804 to 1810.
The 1814 publication, which is being sold by Antique & Fine Art Auctions in Australia on May 8, forms part of the Iain Herriot Library, a collection of 716 books pertaining to Queensland's history that are coming to auction, reports Marine Business.
 Flinders helped establish the name Australia, which is derived from the Latin for “southern” |
"The first edition of the imperial text with the elephant folio atlas is an important book for any serious collector of Australian books," Read's Rare Book Shop owner Harri Peltola, who is organising the book's sale, told the publication.
"A copy sold in 2004 for more than $72,000 but this edition is in much better condition and is expected to sell for much more."
The book was first published on July 18 1814, the day before Flinders died.
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