BEECHEY, Frederick William. Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait. London, 1831, FIRST EDITION, LARGE-PAPER ISS.
2 parts in 1 volume, 4to (275 x 214 mm). 23 engraved or aquatint plates, and 3 maps (2 folding); errata. (Lacking half-titles, some spotting and browning to plates, some offsetting, small section of fore-margin of title-page excised and repaired.) Contemporary half calf gilt, marbled boards (rebacked preserving original spine and endpapers). Provenance: Bassett Jones (1877-1960), American Polar collector (bookplate). FIRST EDITION, LARGE-PAPER "ADMIRALTY ISSUE," OF BEECHEY'S MOST FAMOUS VOYAGE. "One of the most valuable of modern voyages, containing a most interesting visit to Pitcairn Island, the coast of California, etc." (Sabin). At Pitcairn Beechey met one of the last survivors of the mutiny on the Bounty, John Adams, and transmits his lengthy account along with a portrait. He also describes the Eskimos, San Francisco and Monterey. The Admiralty issue is the scarcest and best edition in larger format, with better plates, and added text not in the octavo edition. Arctic Bibliography 1227; Forbes 772; Hill 93, Howes B-309; Lada-Mocarski 95; Sabin 4347; Tourville 467; Wickersham 6541; Zamorano 4.
