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[KERGUELEN] PAGES, Pierre-Marie François de.
Voyages autour du monde , et vers les deux Pôles par terre et par mer….
Paris, Moutard, 1782.
Two volumes, octavo, with ten folding engraved maps and plates; some scattered spots, small tear to first title-page, but a very good copy in later half calf over original papered boards.
First edition: the rare original account of Pagès's extensive narrative of travel and exploration, of most interest for the second volume which recounts his voyage towards the South Pole in search of a Southern Continent under Kerguelen in 1773-74. The ten fine engravings all relate to this part of the work.
This was Kerguelen's second voyage, and a disastrous one: Pagès was to be an important witness in the subsequent court-martial of the commander for the events surrounding the dismasting of the Rolland during a storm. Kerguelen was dismissed from the service, and his printed account of the voyage, which was officially suppressed, is today very rare. This second volume also describes Pagès's experiences on a whaling voyage north of Spitzbergen in 1776, which includes much information on whaling and the natural history of the whale.
Hill, pp. 526-7 (English edition only); Spence, 887.
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