Scarce account of an exploration of the Strait of Magellan Robert O. Cunningham Notes on the Natural History of the Strait of Magellan and West Coast of Patagonia Made During the Voyage of H.M.S. ''Nassau'' In the Years 1866, 67, 68 & 69  Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, 1871 (1st Edition) 8vo (19.5x13 cm); xvi, [1], 517 pp. Illustrated with a coloured folding map and 21 lithographic plates, some coloured; bound in the original green cloth. Condition fair: Ex-library with usual associated stamps. Corners and top and tail of spine bumped and edges rubbed, spine ittself bubbling, marks to cover. Pages tanned, handling marks internally, staining and damage to page edges, especially frontispiece and title page. A few pages have tears or some loss in border. Foxing most predominently in border, foxing to the plates most predominently to colour plates. NOTE: Three plates in facsimile ''Chart of Patagonia'', ''Furcula of Condor'', “Variations of Pinnules of Tree Fern'' and also p. 497/498. New half-title and dedication pages oddly reatached, making the book difficult to open. So only fair, but still a valuable title. Scarce account of an exploration of the Strait of Magellan. Cunningham was appointed naturalist aboard the Nassau, a steamer sent to work on the survey of the Strait and the adjacent channels. This publication gives a journal narrative of the voyage interspersed with natural history notes, and includes their interactions with the native inhabitants of Patagonia, the so-called 'Fuegians'. The narrative provides interesting detail on the lifestyle, hunting and wigwam shelters of these fascinating people, who were thoroughly desensitised to rain, cold and exposure according to Cunningham's account. Cunningham's own interest was chiefly the natural history of the region.