First and only English edition, with aquatint profiles, of Bougard's Le Petit Flambeau de la Mer, a marine pilot guide to coastal navigation originally published in 1684 and extensively revised for the present edition by Serres.


With 20 numbered aquatint plates containing 137 coastal profiles, and 12 partly numbered engraved plates containing 24 maps of port cities, harbours, islands and the Strait of Gibraltar. All coastal profiles and maps beautifully and subtly coloured by a contemporary hand. The landscape prints 5-12 and 16-20 are (initially, not when rebacked, as the margins and browning suggest) inserted with 180° rotation, in comparison to other examples found .
With list of subscribers:
"The vast majority of the [.] 170 subscribers were naval officers: Capt. Cook ( ?) and Admiral Nelson are listed among the subsrcribers.
James Cook died 22 years (14/2/1779) before the appearance, and Horatio Nelson 4 years ( 21/10/1805) after the appearance of this pilot. 9 copies were reserved fort he East-India Company
This may well be considered to be Serres's most important contribution to the arts of naval victory, both because it was a valuable aid to navigation and because it displays such consummate workmanship" (Tracy).
The harbour charts are the work of John Luffman, who was active between 1776 and 1820 as an engraver, publisher, and goldsmith, and the "Naval Chronicle" published quite a few of Luffman's charts. - Slight wear to extremities.