Travel and Exploration

1752 1ed Voyages in JAPAN Asia Natural History Illustrated HUGE MAP Prevost
The 'General History of Voyages'
by abbe Prevost is one of the largest and most impressive collections of stories of expeditions and world exploration printed in Europe during the 18th-century.

This volume covers descriptions of voyages in Japan. This tome is illustrated with 3 full-page engravings and folding views. Illustrations and topics covered in this tome include:
·
Voyages in Japan – descriptions of landscape, people groups
o Okokuni, Kadono, Okongi, Kij, Udsi,Kusse, Sakanaka, Tsukngi… etc.
o Natural history of Japan – volcanos, mountains
o Japanese currency and monies
o Armies of Japan, Japanese princes and royals
Item number: #17085
Price: $499
PREVOST, abbe
Histoire Generale Des Voyages, Ou Nouvelle Collection De Toutes Les Relations De Voyages Par Mer Et Par Terre : Qui ont été publiées jusqu'à présent dans les différentes Langues de toutes les Nations connues: Contenant Ce Qu'Il Y… Read More

1859 AFRICA David Livingstone Missionary African Travel Illustrated Zambezi RARE

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."
– David Livingstone

A rare early edition of David Livingstone's "Missionary Travels". In this book Livingstone describes his travel and work as a missionary to the indigenous people in Central and South Africa. Through the mid-19th-century, South Africa was completely unknown to Europeans, so Livingstone's mission brought light to more than just spreading the gospel. The work deals with customs, languages, animal and plant biology, geology, topography, and mineralogy. "The geographical results of his journeys were of supreme importance and made it possible to fill in great stretches of the maps of Central Africa which hitherto had been blank" (PMM 341).
Livingstone discovered the Zambesi River and Victoria Falls (which he named), parts of Angola, and Mozambique; met with… Read More

1817 Voyages of Tavernier PERSIA Tonkin Vietnam Constantinople Atlas MAP of ASIA
In the first part of the 19th-century, stories and tales of famous voyages were popular throughout the western world – tales of Captain Cook, Columbus, African voyages, and the East India Company occupied readers from all over. Perhaps the best source of these accounts was 'Bibliotheque Portative des Voyages' – an enormous collection of voyage and exploration accounts.
This atlas tome from the 1817 first edition contains views of the voyages of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, an important 17th-century voyager to Persia and India. This tome describes Tavernier's time in Constantinople and Tonkin (Vietnam), noting the customs, costumes, and traditions of the people.
It should be mentioned that his volume contains 23 impressive illustrations including a full map of Asia, city view of Constantinople, a portrait of Tavernier, Tonkin funeral processions, and even an engraving of a venomous King cobra!
Item number: #19248
Price:… Read More

1630 1ed Dutch Voyages Friesland Holland Elzevier Respublica Ortellius Hague
The famed Lyon publisher Elzevier published a series of travel guides under the title 'Respublica'. This work is a collection of various authors on European countries focusing on geography and historical significance – one of the earliest travel guides. One particular entry in the series was Godfried Hegenitius's 'Itinerarium Frisio-Hollandicum' – a history and description of Frisian Dutch cities including The Hague, Leiden, and Rotterdam Dordrecht; as well as the voyages of Ortellius and Vivianus in the Low Countries and Brabant.
Item number: #20377
Price: $499
HEGENITIUS, Godfried
Itinerarivm Frisio-Hollandicvm, et Abr. Ortelii Itinerarivm Gallo-Brabanticvm. : In quibus quæ visu, quæ lectu digna
Lvgd. Batavor. : Ex officina Elzeviriana, 1630. First edition.

Details:

· Collation: Complete with all pages
o
343, [13]
· References: Willems 330
· Language: Latin
· Binding: Vellum; tight and… Read More

1897 1ed Farthest North Fridtjof Nansen Arctic North Pole Fram Expedition Eskimo

Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian arctic scientist who voyaged throughout the North and was one of the most famous polar explorers of the 19th-century. During the Fram Expedition, he encountered large Eskimo populations, learning from them and their nomadic tendencies in the New Siberian Islands, in search of the North Pole. Nansen made extensive records of this journey which were published under the title 'Farthest North'.
Item number: #40245
Price: $599
NANSEN, Fridtjof

Fridtjof Nansen's "Farthest north" : being the record of a voyage of exploration of the ship Fram 1893-96 and of a fifteen months' sleigh journey by Dr. Nansen and Lieut. Johansen with an appendix by Otto Sverdrup captain of the Fram …
Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company, 1897. First edition.

Details:
· Collation: Complete; 2 volumes
o
Vol. I – xiii, [3], 510, [2]
47 full-page illustrations
8 chromolithographs
2 folding… Read More

1848 1st ed Emory Military Reconnaissance California MAP Indians Texas Wild West

"A library of Western Americana is incomplete without this book!" (Zamorano 80).

William Emory was a 19th-century American engineer who is best remembered for his detailed journal describing the events of his journey down the Rio Grande into Southern California. This journal was published by the U.S. Congress under the title 'Notes of a Military Reconnaissance' and was one of the most important travel guidebooks of 19th-century California. It was notable for its illustrations and extensive details of the Southwest.

According to Wagner-Camp on Emory,
"His report was a major contribution to the geographical knowledge of North America the report includes sections on the plants and animals, as well as on the geology and the prehistoric town sites and other archeological remains. Emory's descriptions of the various Indian tribes that he encountered were steps toward the newly-forming discipline -Anthropology- concerned with… Read More

1893 Mississippi Cross & Canoe INDIANS Daniel Boone Columbus Cortez Fremont

'The Lance Cross and Canoe' is a rare 19th-century history of westward American exploration. Written by W.H. Milburn, this book offers descriptions of
· Discoveries of Indian settlements
o Creek Indians, Seneca
· Exploration of John C Fremont
· Daniel Boone and settlers in Kentucky
· Lives of great American figures: Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Sam Houston, Thomas Hart Benton, William H Harrison
· Early new world explorers:
o Ponce de Leon
o Columbus
o De Soto
o Cortez

Item number: #22322
Price: $399

MILBURN, W.H.

The Lance, Cross and Canoe; the Flatboat, Rifle and Plough In the Valley of the Mississippi

Kansas City, Mo., Holderbaum & Kellogg, 1893. 1st edition

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o xvii, [1], 33-696
o Heavily illustrated throughout
· Language: English
· Binding: Hardcover; tight and secure
o Decorative green cloth
·… Read More

1852 UTAH 1ed Expedition Valley Great Salt Lake Mormon Geography OVERLAND TRAIL

"An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah" is a comprehensive report by Howard Stansbury detailing his two-year survey expedition of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, starting in 1849. Ordered by Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the mission was to evaluate emigration trails, scout possible locations for a transcontinental railroad, and study the region's geography, natural history, and mineral composition. Despite initial challenges, Stansbury's team made significant explorations and collected extensive scientific data, even discovering a more direct route through the Rocky Mountains. The expedition also described the Mormon community's domestic relations. The report emphasized the region's hidden agricultural and mineral wealth, suggesting its potential for future development.

Item number: #41352
Price: $750

STANSBURY, Howard

An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah: Including a Description of… Read More

1999 Purple Mountain Press first edition. Oversized trade paperback.
Condition of the book is Near Fine, with no significant condition issues.
Please message me with any questions.

1869 Kit Carson Indians Hunter Trapper Fremont Expedition Rocky Mountains West
"Life of Kit Carson: The Great Western Hunter and Guide" by Charles Burdett is a captivating narrative of Christopher "Kit" Carson, an iconic figure of the American West. This biography explores Carson's valiant and varied experiences as a trapper, guide, and frontiersman amidst the Rocky Mountains and beyond. Included are various accounts of his encounters with Native American tribes, his close calls, and escapes in skirmishes with Mexican forces, and his instrumental role as a guide for government expeditions venturing into the unknown territories of the Far West. Burdett's book celebrates the spirit of adventure and the remarkable endurance of a man whose life was intertwined with the expansion and exploration of the American frontier.
This edition is illustrated with 6 full-page engravings depicting Carson's exploits and adventures.
Item number: #41624
Price: $399
BURDETT, Charles
Life of Kit Carson: The Great Western… Read More

Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A. Hart, 1836. First Edition, First Printing. [American]. Very Good/No Dust Jacket. Red cloth, spine lettered in gilt. 9.5 inches tall; 456 pp. Without the four page publisher's ads at the front. Illustrated with folding frontispiece map.  First U.S. Edition. Ex-library (Bowdoin College, withdrawn bookplate), and pencil marks on the rear paste-down are the only markings.  Moderate wear to cloth, spine sunned; foxing, repairs to map; Clean text with occasional margin spotting.. The First American edition of Back's overland expedition narrative from Montreal to the central Arctic, aimed at aiding the second Ross expedition members, received acclaim from Field as a crucial resource-equivalent to Franklin's work-for comprehending the indigenous peoples of the North. During its publication, "The Quarterly Review" lauded its literary style as surpassing any prior accounts on the subject. Notably, the edition's map is a smaller segment derived from the original map featured… Read More

NP. ND. . HAND TOOLED FINE BINDING. Large 4to. (7.4 x 5 inches.). A collection of maps, engraved views, bank notes, photographs and hand written letters, one detailing the writer's travels which accompanies the photo's. Engraved views and maps, some hand coloured, letters (one relating to travels across Kurdistan dressed as a Cossack, one an ill fated ships travels around the West Indies), documents, 2 signed etchings, one original pen drawing, early American passport (with small area of loss), and photos. ----- Attractive late 19th century or early twentieth century craft binding of full dark green morocco. Spine with decorative gilt border and emerald green morocco shamrock onlays. Boards with single gilt ruled borders. Each corner with circular design incorporating Fleur-de-lys and emerald green morocco onlays with gilt borders of Shamrocks. A similar design is in the centre of the board. The inner line of the border on both boards is decorated with morocco onlay and gilt shamrocks. Inner boards… Read More

You get one antique Babylon Electrified: The History of an Expedition Undertaken to Restore Ancient Babylon By the Power of Electricity and How it Resulted hardcover by A. Bleunard and published by Gebbie & Co., Publishers in Philadelphia in 1889. It is illustrated by Montader and is in English. It measures approximately 9.5 inches long by 7 inches wide. The book is in good condition. The binding is tight and the book is complete with no loose pages. The covers and edges do have some wear. The pages do have foxing, but are clean and free of writing, except for a number 7 written on the title page before the title page. Thereis a tear in the first blank page, as well as the frontispiece. Please see all pictures.

1834 Mariner's Chronicle 1ed PIRATES Shipwreck NAVY Boat Ship Sailing Navigation

A rare first edition of 'The Mariner's Chronicle' – a collection of sea narratives, shipwreck stories, naval battles, and pirate adventures! Written and collected by an unknown author, this work features accounts of specific ships and their crew lost to sea, explosions of boats in wharfs, and is filled with charming woodcut illustrations!

Item number: #24656
Price: $499

DUNCAN, Archibald

The mariner's chronicle: containing narratives of the most remarkable disasters at sea, such as shipwrecks, storms, fires, and famines: also naval engagements, piratical adventures, incidents of discovery, and other extraordinary and interesting occurrences.

New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1834. First edition.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o xii, 13-504
o 25 engravings (on 13 leaves)
· Language: English
· Binding: Leather; tight and secure
· Size: ~7.75in X 4.75in (19.5cm x 12cm)

Our… Read More

New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984. Signed on the half-title page by the author. First edition / First printing. Gray cloth. Very fine in very fine dust jacket.