Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait. To Co-Operate with the Polar Expeditions: Performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom, under the command of Captain F.W. Beechey, R.N., F.R.S., &c. in the Years 1825, 26, 27, 28
Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1832. 1st Edition. Hardcover. First American edition, published in one volume without the maps and plates of the first edition published in London the previous year. In the publisher's boards, with untrimmed pages and cloth spine detached along the front joint. An early gift inscription on the title page reads "John Fraser, from his mother, Sept 1832", facing John Fraser's bookplate and a partially erased note recording his age when he received the book. Most pages are either darkened or foxed. 493, [3]pp. 24 page publisher's catalog. 9.75 x 6".
The first edition is included on the Zamorano list of eighty significant early works on the history of California, on the strength of the chapters describing visits to San Francisco and Monterey, with an account of the missions and treatment of Native Americans. Along with much else, Beechey's account of his three year voyage includes early descriptions of Hawaii, Alaska, and a meeting with the last surviving Bounty mutineer on Pitcairn Island. Good. Item #2024-Q333
Price: $325.00