The scarce first edition (a second edition appeared from the same press in 1826) of the "first detailed account of an American's visit to Vietnam" (Robert Hopkins Miller, The United States and Vietnam 1787-1941). Neither edition is much seen: we can trace only two copies of this first edition at auction since 1963.

The scarce first edition (a second edition appeared from the same press in 1826) of the "first detailed account of an American's visit to Vietnam" (Robert Hopkins Miller, The United States and Vietnam 1787-1941). Neither edition is much seen: we can trace only two copies of this first edition at auction since 1963.

"An early American voyage to the East Indies. Sailing from Salem, Massachusetts, in January 1819, the Franklin and the Marmion began a voyage to the Far East that would last for twenty months. During this time the naval expedition visited Siam, China, the Philippines, and Saigon. This was the first American voyage to ascend the Dong Nai River, and the crew spent a considerable amount of time in Saigon. Although much of John White's narrative is devoted to Cochin China, its inhabitants and their language, it also contains an abundance of observations on Vietnam and the Vietnamese. Cochin China, originally a part of the ancient Khmer (Cambodian) empire, had been gradually infiltrated and overtaken by the Annamese (Vietnamese) in the 17th and 18th centuries, and today it is part of southern Vietnam. White also discusses Batavia and the Philippines. The "Map of the River of Don-Nai from Cape St. James to the City of Saigon" is after the original produced by M. Dayot in 1791, here updated with information gleaned from the expedition" (Hill catalogue).

The splendid large frontispiece map shows details recorded from the important navigation of the Dong Nai river.