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Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter
East Carolina University Acquires Original Editions of Hakluyt's Principal Navigations by E. Thomson Shields, Jr.
These two volumes will be part of Joyner Library’s rare book collection. The collection already has several items of interest to people researching Roanoke colonization. It owns a copy of the 1634 edition of Sir Walter Raleigh’s The Historie of the World. There are also several early print maps in the collection portraying North Carolina, including a copy of Theodor de Bry's engraved map of Secotan, Weapemeoc, and Roanoke based on a John White drawing; a recently donated 1640 copy of Virginia partis australie, by William J. Blaeu; and a copy of the 1733 Edward Moseley map A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina.
Hakluyt’s Principal Navigations was the earliest printed source on the 1580s Roanoke colonization efforts. The 1589 edition included several important documents: the 1584 “Letters Patent to Walter Raleigh”; Arthur Barlowe’s “Discourse of the First Voyage”; the journal of the ship the Tiger from the 1585 voyage; the list of names of the colonists from the 1585-86 expedition; an extract of a 1585 letter from Ralph Lane to Richard Hakluyt, the elder; Lane’s account of the 1585-86 colonization attempt; Thomas Harriot’s A Briefe and True Report; John White’s narrative about the 1587 expedition; a list of the colonists from the 1587 expedition; the account of White’s 1588 attempt to resupply the Roanoke colony; and a 1589 agreement between Raleigh and several other people to continue the Roanoke colonization venture. While omitting White’s account of the 1588 attempt to resupply the colony and Raleigh’s agreement to continue the venture, the 1589-1600 edition added other important sources: an account of Sir Francis Drake’s 1586 expedition to Florida and Virginia; John White’s narrative of his 1590 voyage to find the 1587 colonists; and the relation of Pedro Morales about the southeastern part of what is now the United States.
The provenance of the two edition copies acquired by ECU is a bit sketchy. The 1598-1600 edition has on its inside covers a small label, about the size of a postal return label, with the name, Earl Bathurst printed on it with a decorative border. This might easily be assumed to mean the Earl of Bathurst, but which one is not indicated in any way. (However, from a brief examination, the labels seem to be of eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century origin.)
The 1589 edition provides greater clues as to at least one of its previous owners. Inside the front cover is a bookplate reading William Tooke. Hand printed below that are the initials .F. R. S. (Fellow of the Royal Society), and handwritten on the title page is .W. Tooke, St. Petersburg, 1781. William Tooke (1744-1820) served as the chaplain to the English merchants of St. Petersburg, Russia, from 1774 to 1792. Though he published several original works and translations throughout his life, Tooke is best known for his histories of Russia written after returning to England from St. Petersburg.
Further information on the provenance of the two edition copies is being requested from Maggs Brothers of London, from whom they were acquired. The Roanoke Colonies Research Office and Joyner Library’s Special Collections librarians would be glad to hear from anyone who might be able to provide additional information.
Anyone interested in using the volumes or any other resources from the Joyner Library rare book and manuscript collections can contact Don Lennon, Special Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353; the telephone number is (919) 328-6671. The Special Collections Room is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
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