Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition.
Item #62759
WILKES, Charles. Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition. During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1842. In Five Volumes with Thirteen Maps. Phila.: Lea & Blanchard, 1850 5 Vols. Illus., engraved plates, folding maps. Original cloth. A fine set. HOWES W-414. Sabin 103994. Hill 1867. David B. Tyler, The Wilkes Expedition (Phila., 1968). Nathaniel Philbrick, Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (New York, 2003). Herman J. Viola, ed. Magnificent Voyagers: the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Washington, DC, 1985). The United States Exploring Expedition circumnavigated the globe under the command of Charles Wilkes between the summer of 1838 and the summer of 1842 (for a detailed account of the voyage, see the sources referenced above). In July 1842, almost immediately upon his return, Wilkes began work on the narrative, drawing on all of the data and logs assembled by the members of the expedition. "The aims of the expedition were to survey unfamiliar ocean regions and make scientific discoveries. Assigned to this duty were sloops of war Vincennes and Peacock, the brig Porpoise, the ship Relief, and the tenders Sea Gulf and Flying Fish. Aboard these vessels were naturalists, botanists, artists, and others with specialized training in scientific exploration, in addition to the officers and sailors. The chief field of exploration in this expedition were the coast of the Antarctic continent, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and the American northwest coast. In total, some 280 islands in the Pacific and adjacent waters and 800 miles of streams and coasts in the Oregon country were surveyed, and 1600 miles of the coast of Antarctica were charted. After leaving Hampton Roads in 1838, the expedition visited Madeira, the Cape Verde Islands, Brazil, Patagonia, the South Shetland Islands, and Peter I Island, Chile, and Peru, before proceeding to the Tuamotu or the Low Archipelago, the Samoa Islands, and New South Wales. From Sydney, Wilkes sailed into the Antarctic Ocean and along the Antarctic Continent from 150? to 97? East, reporting land at a number of points in the region now known as Wilkesland. He visited Tonga, the Fiji group, and the Hawaiian Islands in 1840, and in in 1841 explored the west coast of North America. Much valuable information is given on the Columbia River, the W.
Price: $3,000.00