David Spilman Fine Books

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. etc in the Years 1825, 26, 27, 28; A New Edition in Two Volumes [with errata corrections]

Beechey, Captain F. W.

London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. Very Good. Second Edition. 8vo [9x6in] Vol. I- xxii, 472 pp., frontispiece fold out map of voyage tracks,13 illustrations, two maps (double page and fold out), Vol. II- iv, 452 pp.,10 illustrations and views (four double page), tables, lacking advertisements; Rebound in modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards, gilt lettering on spine on dark brown label with rule and designs, new end papers, all edges untrimmed; Minimal shelf wear to covers, edges and corners, top edge of text darken, light foxing spots and offsets to all maps and illustrations in both volumes, Vol. I - several closed tears at creases and top of hinge (repaired) on frontispiece map, closed tear at top hinge of fold out map, two leaves of table of contents ([xix]- xxii) misbound in front of dedication and introduction. [Hill 93, Howes B309, Wickersham 6541, Lada-Morcarski 95 (Quarto) , Smith 704, Zamorano80 4, Arctic Biblio 1228, Books of the West 57]. Item #14092

Frederick William Beechey (1796-1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. In 1825, Beechey was appointed to command H.M.S. Blossom. His task was to explore the Bering Strait and connect, if possible, with the land expeditions of Franklin and Parry operating from the east. In the summer of 1826, after a transit through Bering Strait, a barge from the Blossom reached near Point Barrow, which he named, a point only 146 miles west of that reached by Franklin's expedition from the Mackenzie River. The whole voyage lasted more than three years, and in the course of it, Beechey discovered several islands in the Pacific, and an excellent harbor near Cape Prince of Wales. In 1826 sailed to California to gain information about the sparsely populated province of the newly independent Mexico. He explored and charted San Francisco bay and visited a Catholic mission. Of the mission conditions, he wrote, "... with whips, canes and goads or sharp, pointed sticks to preserve silence and maintain order, and what seemed more difficult than either, to keep the congregation in their kneeling posture. The goads would reach a long way and inflict a sharp puncture without making any noise. The end of the church was occupied by a guard of soldiers under arms with fixed bayonets." (from Wikipedia, in part).

From Hill, "Beechey's book is one of the most valuable of modern voyages and relates to extensive visits to the ...[South Pacific islands] ... and the coast of California." "... his work provides an important account of Monterey and San Francisco before the American conquest and give his impressions of the missionaries in San Francisco."

This book was from the library of Dr. G. Warren Smith (1941-2021) of Pennsylvania. He had a long career as university professor and administrator, and was a collector of over 6,000 books, maps, illustrations, and artifacts relating to the Arctic, Alaska and Pacific Northwest.

Price: $2,200.00