A Voyage round the World, in the years 1803, 4, 5, & 6…
A Voyage round the World, in the years 1803, 4, 5, & 6; performed, by Order of His Imperial Majesty Alexander the First, Emperor of Russia, in the Ship Neva.
London: Booth/Longman, 1814.
Quarto, with a frontispiece portrait, eight charts coloured in wash (three folding) and five plates (two of them, St Paul and Sitka, coloured aquatints); modern half calf, marbled boards, red morocco label, a fine copy.
By the commander of the Neva on Krusenstern's voyage around the world
A very handsome copy of the rare first edition in English, by the commander of the Neva on Krusenstern's voyage around the world. Lisiansky's narrative is a counterpart to Krusenstern's own account of the voyage: after the expedition reached Hawaii in 1804 the expedition's two ships separated and Lisiansky went to Kodiak aboard the Neva, where he corroborated reports that Indians had demolished the settlement at Sitka. Lisiansky's orders were different to those given to Krusenstern and so he alone called at Easter Island and remained longer in Hawaii, where he discovered the island that now bears his name.
A very handsome copy of the rare first edition in English, by the commander of the Neva on Krusenstern's voyage around the world. Lisiansky's narrative is a counterpart to Krusenstern's own account of the voyage: after the expedition reached Hawaii in 1804 the expedition's two ships separated and Lisiansky went to Kodiak aboard the Neva, where he corroborated reports that Indians had demolished the settlement at Sitka. Lisiansky's orders were different to those given to Krusenstern and so he alone called at Easter Island and remained longer in Hawaii, where he discovered the island that now bears his name.
His stay in Alaska was also longer and he spent a productive time recording his observations and trading for furs. At Sitka he became involved with Baranof's retaking of the Russian fort which had been captured by the Tlingit Indians. From Kodiak he made straight for Canton with his furs and a hasty voyage to Kronstadt, arriving two months ahead of Krusenstern. Nonetheless, as Krusenstern commanded the expedition it is to him that credit goes for Russia's first circumnavigation. The excellent maps here are from Lisiansky's own surveys; the large map shows the track of the voyage and there are charts of the Coast from Behrings Bay to Sea Otter Bay, Washington Island, and Lisiansky's Island. The superb views of Kodiak and Sitka are from his drawings. The English edition was translated from Russian by the author himself, and contains his ship's log and vocabularies of the Marquesas, Hawaii, Kodiak, Unalaska, and Baranof [Sitka] languages.
Lisiansky's description of Hawaii is more extensive than that of Krusenstern, and his account of the Marquesas is quite different. The final part of the account consists of a detailed description of time spent in Canton.
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Abbey, Travel, 4; Arctic Bibliography, 10209; Forbes, 'Hawaiian National Bibliography', 443; Hawaii One Hundred, 19; Hill, 1026; Howes, L372; Kroepelien, 740; Lada-Mocarski, 68; O'Reilly-Reitman, 739; Sabin, 41416.
Price (AUD): $32,000.00
US$21,041.79 Other currencies