The Life of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker, Bart. G.C.B... First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, etc...

London: Harrison and Sons, 1876, 1879, 1880. Perhaps best known as the Commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station during the First Opium War, Parker provided naval support at the Battle of Amoy and took part in the Battle of Ningpo, the Battle of Woosung, and the Battle of Chinkiang. He also participated in the capture of the French ships during the Napoleonic Wars, and was detached on an independent command on the Tagus in September 1831 with a mission to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. He was Commander-in-Chief of Mediterranean Fleet in 1845, and briefly First Naval Lord in 1846, but gave up the role due to ill health. The three volumes are first editions. Volume I has a large folding table listing vessels captured by Parker in the "Amazon" which he commanded for 9 years, taking part in Nelson's pursuit of Villeneuve to the West Indies. Volume II has a folding chart of the East Coast of China, showing important ports and battle sites. See NMM II, vol. 2, 1106. Uniformly bound in publisher's blue cloth with gold backstrip and cover decoration. Backstrips of volumes I and III are sunned and chipped. Front inner hinge of volume III is cracked but holding. Three volumes in very good condition. Three volumes, 22 cm. xv, 497, (24 publisher's catalog); vii, 663; vi, (1 errata), 797 pp. Folding table, folding map, b/w frontispiece.