An Authentic Account of Commodore Anson's Expedition...Taken from a Private Journal. 

FIRST EDITION, modern panelled calf gilt, 8vo (191 x 111 mm), London: M Cooper, 1744

The “extremely rare” first account of Anson’s voyage.

“There are doubts about the existence of John Philips, midshipman of the Centurion. In his Pacific Islands Literature–One Hundred Basic Books, A. Grove Day asserts that John Philips is a pseudonym, as there is no such name on the ship’s muster. The pseudonym may have been used because this account was published four years before the appearance of Richard Walter’s official narrative of Anson’s voyage, and included information that was not considered ready for publication: Philips wrote about John Bulkeley, mutineer on the Wager, whose court martial was still being debated at the time of this publication” (Hill, of the later J. Robinson edition, Hill 1344). It is possible this account was written by Anson himself.

There were three more pirated editions published in 1744 and 1745.

Hill (2004) 39 and cf. 1344 (the later edition of the same year); Sabin 1631 and cf. 62458