(REVOLUTION.) Fittler & Lerpinière, engravers; after Paton. Pair of naval views, including the great victory of John Paul Jones. Hand-colored engravings, 19½ x 23 inches, with titles and captions in English and French, restrikes on 1830 Whatman paper; minimal wear except for a 4-inch repaired closed tear to the second print. - London: John Boydell, 12 December 1780 copyright (early restrikes)

The first of these paired prints, issued in the same format and on the same date, is "The Memorable Engagement of Captn. Pearson of the Serapis, with Paul Jones of the Bon Homme Richard & his Squadron, Sep. 23 1779." It is a British depiction of one of the Battle of Flamborough Head, one of the great American naval victories of the war, spinning the defeated HMS Serapis as having "saved the Baltic fleet under his convoy, tho' obliged to submit to a much superior force." It was this battle in which John Paul Jones is said to have uttered the immortal words "I have not yet begun to fight." This print shows the battered Serapis near the end of the fight, with its mast blown off and two crew members clinging to it in the water.



Also included is the "The Distressed Situation of the Quebec & the Surveillante, a French Ship of War . . . 6th of October 1779.” This lesser-known battle between the British ship Quebec and a French naval vessel attempting to break blockade. The scene depicted is yet more dramatic than the Flamborough Head view, with the ruins of the Quebec in flames as the desperate crew takes to the water.