1895 Rare Pirate Book- The Life of William Dampier and The Buccaneers of America

Author: Anonymous (biographical narrative of William Dampier). Illustrated by Paul Hardy.
Title: The Life and Adventures of William Dampier with a History of The Buccaneers of America.
Publisher: London, Blackie & Son, Limited, 50 Old Bailey, E.C.; Glasgow and Dublin, no date (1895). First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 x 5 inches. 
Pages: 224 pages + publisher's catalogue.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s pictorial teal-blue cloth binding, richly decorated in black, orange, and gilt with nautical and celestial motifs to the upper board and spine (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective, removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, some light foxing and toning - as shown, School Prize plate dated 1898 on the first endpaper - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with the nice frontispiece illustration by Paul Hardy. 

The book: Scarce and handsome late-Victorian adventure volume recounting the dramatic life and voyages of William Dampier (1651–1715) — privateer, explorer, naturalist, and one of the most fascinating figures of the early modern maritime world. Blending biography and historical narrative, the work follows Dampier’s extraordinary travels among the buccaneers of the Caribbean, his circumnavigations of the globe, and his journeys to New Holland (Australia). 

William Dampier: William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Francis Drake (16th century) and James Cook (18th century), he "bridged those two eras" with a mix of piratical derring-do of the former and scientific inquiry of the later. His expeditions were among the first to identify and name a number of plants, animals, foods, and cooking techniques for a European audience, being among the first English writers to use words such as avocado, barbecue, and chopsticks. In describing the preparation of avocados, he was the first European to describe the making of guacamole, named the breadfruit plant, and made frequent documentation of the taste of numerous foods foreign to the European palate such as flamingo and manatee.