BEECHEY, Captain F.W Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait... London, Henry Colburn, 1831
Two volumes, quarto, with 19 engraved plates, four lithographed plates, and three engraved maps (two folding); a fine, large copy, rough-trimmed only in the original grey boards, expertly respined in appropriate style; corners bumped, some light foxing on a few of the plates but a handsome set in original condition; a few early ink notes relating to Pitcairn Island on front cover.
First edition of 'one of the most valuable of modern voyages' (Sabin). HMS Blossom was commissioned as a relief expedition to Bering Strait to meet Parry and Franklin on their search for a northwest passage, and to explore the areas of the Pacific on her route.
The ship visited Easter Island, Pitcairn, and the Mangarevas (on which Beechey was the first European to land), sailed through the Tuamotus, reached Tahiti and made a stop in Hawaii. At Kamchatka Beechey learned of Parry's return, and spent July to October in Kotzebue Sound, tragically missing Franklin near Point Barrow, Alaska, by fifty leagues. The next year he continued his exploration of the Arctic, entering Kotzebue Sound from the west. His book gives especially good accounts of his visits to San Francisco, Monterey, Honolulu, and Okinawa. Forbes has discussed the book at length in the Hawaiian National Bibliography.
Beechey also describes his important visit to Pitcairn Island, and publishes the detailed description of the mutiny on the Bounty that was told to him by John Adams, the last of the survivors. The fine engravings include two views of Pitcairn, one of California, and five of Okinawa.
This copy does not have the additional errata slip mentioned by Forbes and Hill, which was probably not supplied in early issues of the book.
Ferguson, 1418; Forbes, 'Hawaiian National Bibliography', 772; Hawaii One Hundred, 43; Hill, 93; Judd, 16; Lada-Mocarski, 95; O'Reilly-Reitman, 849; Sabin, 4347; Zamorano, 'Eighty', 4.
$A16000
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