Jacques Arago - Voyage Around the World [1st Edition, Hawaii, Australia, Polynesia, Oceania, Geography, Travel, - 1839

1839 FIRST EDITION ON GEOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, SCIENCE, HAWAII, AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, SOUTH AFRICA, POLYNESIA, MICRONESIA, ANTHROPOLOGY, WEST PAPUA, INDONESIA, FAR EAST ASIA, TRIBES, ABORIGINES by Jacques Arago (1790–1855), a French writer, artist and explorer, author of a "Souvenirs d'un aveugle. Voyage autour du monde" (Memories of a Blind Man: Voyage Around the World). The work consists of four volumes, bound in excellent condition and richly illustrated with 60 full-page lithograph illustrations (many of the numerous drawings are unpublished) that document travel, explorations, adventures and the tribes encountered during the journey around the world. This is one of the most vibrant and historically significant French travelogues of the 19th century and chronicles a three-year global circumnavigation. Between 1817 and 1820, Arago sailed aboard the French corvette Uranie under the command of Louis de Freycinet. The expedition's primary goal was scientific; measuring the shape of the globe, studying magnetism, and collecting meteorological data. The crew traveled extensively, making major stops in Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Timor, Guam, Hawaii, and the Falkland Islands. Jacques Arago was tasked with visually documenting the landscapes, flora, fauna, and the indigenous peoples they encountered. Four original contemporary bindings richly decorated and in excellent condition, virtually intact. COMPLETE FIRST EDITION.

RARE FIRST EDITION. Only one copy for sale here for $3,700.00; https://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=734014115, the same first edition is offered to you at a fraction of that price. A fine set of the substantially changed version of Arago's classic account of the three-year global circumnavigation, "often incorrectly described as a later edition of Arago's Promenade...it is actually a different, unique, more elaborate work, and with numerous unpublished drawings..." (Hill). Most maritime journals of the era were dry logs filled with boring nautical coordinates, weather data, and rigid military observations. Arago's book broke the mold. He wrote with the flair of a playwright and the eye of an anthropologist. His four volumes are filled with lively dialogue, witty anecdotes, and vivid cultural tableaux all illustrated with dynamic scenes of fights, rites, hunts, games, beautiful portraits of natives of the places visited. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the ship, Arago focused entirely on the people; offering deeply human, colorful, and sometimes highly subjective accounts of the cultures the Uranie visited. Many illustrations and information are dedicated to Australia and New South Wales (majority of the fourth volume), Hawaii (majority of the third volume), Micronesia, Polynesia, Oceania and the peoples of the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian visit was made at a time crucial to the history of the islands, and some of the portraits and depictions of native customs are of considerable importance. Each illustration is signed at the bottom by Jacques Arago and Nicolas Eustache Maurin. By the time this version of his book reached the public, the remarkable Arago had lost his sight: hence the new title used for the work of "Souvenirs d'un aveugle or Memories of a Blind Man".

TITLE: Souvenirs d'un aveugle. Voyage autour du monde...(Memories of a Blind Man: Voyage Around the World)
AUTHORS: Jacques Étienne Victor Arago (1790–1855), also known as Jacques Arago
PUBLISHER: Hortet et Ozanne
DATE: 1839, printed in Paris, text in French

DESCRIPTION: 4 volumes in 4°, size height 240 x width 160 mm or 9.5 by 6.3 inches. Pages 400, 423, 399, 451, four volumes, each with its own title page and date, plus 60 full-page lithograph illustrations, COMPLETE EDITION. Original period binding in red half-leather morocco in a romantic style, with rich decorations and titles on the spine, rare small defects, the four bindings are solid and practically intact, free of tears, losses, cracks, or structural damage, as shown in the photos. Text and illustrations intact, ownership signature on the pages of the 4 titles, small stains and oxidation here and there, illustrations printed on thicker paper, all in very good condition as shown in the photos. COMPLETE FIRST EDITION.

REFERENCES: Ferguson, 2689a; Forbes, 'Hawaiian National Bibliography', 1134; Hill, 30.

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