viii, 333, [1, imprint), plus errata slip; 149, [1, blank], [2, ads] [with a correction in manuscript to p. 30 inserted]; 31, [1, blank]; 15, [1, imprint]pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Very rare first English edition of Biddle's Memoir of Cabot, a scarce account of the adventures of the famous 15th and 16th-century Italian explorer and a major source and inspiration for subequent interest in Cabot. Biddle stressed the achievements and pre-eminence of Sebastian over his father, John, and also discusses those of Cortereal, Columbus, Verrazano, Frobisher, and Hudson. The first American and first English editions were said to be suppressed. Richard Biddle (1796-1847), from the distinguished Philadelphia family, trained as a lawyer and worked for a decade in Pittsburgh before travelling to London and beginning his historical researches. He was a pioneer in the study of the early voyages of the Cabots, discovering among the Manuscripts in the Public Record Office, London, the text of Henry VII's second le