Wilkes, Charles:

$6,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

NARRATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. DURING THE YEARS 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. This is the first regularly available trade edition of the narrative of the Wilkes expedition, preceded only by the extremely rare official edition and the further printing of 150 copies made for gifts. The Wilkes Expedition was the first United States scientific expedition by sea, working mainly in the Pacific Ocean. Wilkes sailed along the Antarctic continent and throughout the islands of the South Pacific, visited the Hawaiian Islands in 1840, and explored the northwest coast of America in 1841. The expedition was made up of a number of notable American scientists, and their botanical, natural history, and geological findings are included.The United States Exploring Expedition "was the first American scientific expedition of any size, charged to 'extend the bounds of Science and promote the acquisition of knowledge,' and was one of the most ambitious Pacific expeditions ever attempted" (Forbes). "The chief fields 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 1,600 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 Isl

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