BENNETT, Frederick Debell (d. 1859). Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the globe. London, 1840. FIRST EDITION.
2 volumes, 8vo (223 x 137 mm). Engraved folding map, 2 aquatint frontispieces, in-text engravings; 2 pp. advertisements. (Some mostly marginal spotting.) Publisher's green cloth gilt (Vol. I rebacked preserving original spine, Vol. II lower joints splitting with small repair at head of spine, lightly worn).FIRST EDITION of one of the best books on the whale fishery according to Herman Melville, by the expedition scientist aboard the ship Tuscan. He details the anatomy and habits of whales and the best way of conducting the industry. In the course of the voyage Bennett called at Pitcairn Island and gives an account of the Bounty mutineers, Tahiti, the Marquesas and Hawaii. "He was specifically assigned to observe the anatomy and habits of southern whales, to determine the best way of conducting the sperm whale fishery industry, to investigate the islands of Polynesia, and to collect samples of natural history" (Hill). Hill 113; Sabin 4726; Spence 122.
