THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC; CONTAINING NOTICES OF BRAZIL, CHILE, BOLIVIA, AND PERU, &c. IN 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834. By an Officer of the United States Navy.
[Ruschenberger, William Samuel Waithman]:
London. 1835. Two volumes. xi,403,[1]; viii,440pp. Original cloth-backed boards, printed paper labels. Corners bumped, spine ends bit worn, first volume bit cocked, inner front hinge of first volume starting. Else very good and clean. First London edition, after the one-volume American edition issued the previous year. The author was a U.S. Navy surgeon and an honorary member of the Philadelphia Medical Society. He made two voyages to South America and the Pacific, first aboard the Brandywine (1826-29) and then aboard the Falmouth (1831-34). This book is largely devoted to his experiences in South America, including whaling off the coast of Peru, with some entertaining descriptions of the society which exists between whaling vessels at sea and among the sailors on land: "Whalers form a distinct class. When several vessels are assembled at any of the places of rendezvous, the oldest captain in company is styled the admiral." SABIN 74195. HILL 1498. BORBA DE MORAES, p.755. FORBES HAWAII 918 (ref).
(Item ID: WRCAM24753) $750.00