Beschreibung
2 volumes (text and atlas). Text volume: 8vo (8 x 5-1/2 inches): [16], CLXVIII (i.e. 168), 185 pages; folded letterpress table between pp. 168-169, and errata leaf (p. 185) at end. Atlas volume: folio (12-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches): [4] pages (letterpress title-page and "Explicacion" table of contents; one or two spots and a pale waterstain in the top margin of the preliminaries), 17 fine engraved plates comprising 9 maps (4 folding) and 8 illustrations (2 folding) of scenes of the Pacific Northwest and its native inhabitants (margins a bit thumbed, edges a little frayed). Uniformly bound in full green crushed morocco, gilt, by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (their name in gilt on inside front boards). PROVENANCE: With the contemporary ownership inscription on the title-page of the text volume of Luis L. Dominguez, almost certainly Luis Lorenzo Dominguez (1819-1898), the Argentine politician, diplomat and historian who authored several works on the history of Argentina and Spanish America; also with the ink library stamp of the Chicago Historical Society dated 1898 on the title-page of the atlas volume. FIRST EDITION OF A RARE AND IMPORTANT WORK ON THE SPANISH EXPLORATION OF NOOTKA SOUND AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. Hill calls this a "masterly work.and an account of the voyage commanded by Captains Alcala Galiano and Valdes. They were detailed to make a complete reconnaissance and survey of the continental shore at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Neah Bay, Esqimalt Bay (where they met Captain George Vancouver's expedition), and Nootka Sound were all visited. several Indian vocabularies are given, including the Eslen, Runsien, and Nootka languages" (Hill 570). In addition to the journal, the work contains a "masterly resumé of Spanish voyages to the coast, written by Martin Fernandez de Navarette, whose name does not appear in the work. He was an accomplished scholar, and his knowledge of Spanish archives was superior to that of any of his contemporaries. The work is sometimes attributed to Jose Espinosa y Tello, the cosmographer on the Malaspina expedition, whose own account of the voyage was published in 1809 but given his accumulated study, it is more likely that Fernandez de Navarrete authored this summary of Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast, especially in light of the fact that neither Palau nor Sabin associate Espinosa y Tello with the work. Fernandez de Navarrete was a member of a family with long-standing naval tradition and was a career naval officer with access to privileged information. He was instrumental in founding the Deposito Hidrografico in Madrid and compiled a great deal of data about Spanish naval history, including the transcription of over forty immense volumes of rare manuscripts regarding Spanish voyages since the fifteenth century. REFERENCES: Palau 82853-54; Sabin 69221. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 000364
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