This intricate engraving depicts Commodore Charles Wager’s attack on a fleet of Spanish galleons off the coast of Cartagena. At center is Wager’s ship, the Expedition, engaging with the Spanish flagship San Jose. Surrounding this central batlle are warring ships from both sides while Poseidon observes from a land position at bottom right. While Commodore Wager was successfully able to rescue some of the Spanish treasure, much of it sank several hundred feet to the seabed below. Given the vast treasure loaded on these ships, many consider it to be the “holy grail of shipwrecks,” which was only recently discovered in 2015.

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Condition: A

A crisp impression on a bright sheet, issued folding. There is a binder's trim at lower left that has been replaced with old paper and a short binding tear that has been seamlessly repaired on verso.