Cyrille Laplace, French navigator : autograph letter, signed, regarding the published account of his circumnavigation in La Favorite. Toulon, 16 September 1835.

A$2,400 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Signed

Manuscript in brown ink, 2 pp., octavo (200 x 135 mm), on wove paper watermarked MARION ; headed Toulon, 16 September 1835 , and signed at the foot C. Laplace , the letter is to an unnamed recipient (but the content makes it clear it is addressed to a representative of the Imprimerie Royale, the publisher of his voyage account); in French; closely written, in a very neat and legible hand; a few spots of foxing, otherwise clean and complete. Rare unpublished letter of the French naval officer and explorer Cyrille Laplace (1793-1875), with a request to the relevant government authorities to supply a batch of undelivered copies of his account of the circumnavigation in La Favorite , which had been promised to him. Laplace completed two circumnavigations: the first, in La Favorite (1830-1832), is described by him in the official voyage account Voyage autour du Monde par les Mers de l Inde et de la Chine: executé sur la Corvette de l État la Favorite, pendant les Années 1830-32 , which was published toward the end of 1833. The second would be undertaken in l Artémise (1837-1840) . Laplace, through his diplomatic efforts, helped lay the foundations for French trade in Oceania. He also played a key role in the establishment of the Hawaiian Catholic Church. Although the primary objective of Laplace s expedition in La Favorite was to re-establish French influence in Indo-China, it was also expected that he would try to forge economic opportunities for the French throughout the Pacific

• Binding: Hardcover

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