Brenchley's South Sea Islands in 1865 - Volume with 60 Lithographs

Artist or Author: Julius Lucius Brenchley

Work: Jottings during the cruise of H.M.S. Curaçoa among the South Sea Islands in 1865

Date of Publication: 1873

Style: Volume with 60 Lithographs

Paper Size: ~ 7 1/2" by 10"

Condition: The work is in good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Description of the work: This first edition volume with 60 lithographs is Julius Lucius Brenchley's Jottings during the cruise of H.M.S. Curaçoa among the South Sea Islands in 1865. The work was published in London in 1873 by Longmans, Green, and Co. Many of the plates in the work featured original hand-coloring.

The volume is bound in half leather, five raised bands, gold gilt lettering and details to spine. There are 60 lithographs: 50 on natural history, 8 on ethnographic, and 2 chromolithographs. Forty-three of the plates feature original hand-coloring.

"This voyage was especially significant for the natural history data collected. The ship sailed from Sydney under command of Sir William Wiseman to display the British flag in the different archipelagoes of the western Pacific. Vistits were made to Lord Howe Islands, Norfolk Islands, and Niue or Savage Island; Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji; the New Hebrides, Santa Cruz, and Solomon Islands; New Caledonia, and the Loyality Islands." (Hill p. 33) In particular, it's section on birds "...was prepared on the basis of material collected by Brenchley during the cruise of the fregatte 'Curaçoa', in the western Pacific. Only birds new to science or particularly rare are noted." (Anker 185)

Julius Lucius Brenchley (1816-1873) was an English "gentleman explorer" for two decades. He was ordained, but did not show interest in conversion or missionary movements in his travels, but rather the gathering of information on natural history. “Though traveling for his own instruction and amusement, [Brenchley] spared neither cost nor trouble in procuring what he thought would contribute to the instruction and gratification of others” (Preface)

Provenance: Herbert Massey, Owned by Professor William Gardner Hale, top British authority on wading birds