Extracts From A Journal, Written On The Coasts Of Chili, Peru, And Mexico, In The Years 1820, 1821, 1822, In Two Volumes Basil Hall

1825 fourth edition Archibald Constable (Edinburgh, Scotland), two 5 x 7 1/2 inches tall contemporary quarter leather hardcover volumes, leather spine and tips over marbled paper-covered boards, four raised bands and gilt lettering to spines, all page edges marbled, folding map frontispiece to Volume 1, [v.1] xx, 379; [v.2] xii, 320, 80 pp., complete. (811 pages total.) Slight to moderate soiling, rubbing and edgewear to covers, with a bit of chipping, especially to the spines and board edges. Inside, apart from a period ink prior owner name to the blank front free-endpapers of both volumes and creasing to one tip of the otherwise pristine folding map, a fine set - clean, remarkably bright and unmarked. Note that this is a heavy and oversized set, so additional postage will be required for international or priority orders. ~DD~ [3.5P] Basil Hall (1788-1844) was a British naval officer from Scotland, a traveler and an author. Hall joined the Royal Navy at the age of thirteen and saw service during the Peninsular War. His subsequent career involved extended journeys to the East Indies, the Far East and South America. During these postings - encompassing elements of exploration, diplomacy and scientific observation - he kept a journal, and from his notes he published successful accounts of his voyages. This two-volume work, first published in 1823 and reissued here in its revised 1825 fourth edition, recounts his travels and first-hand observations during his final commission to South America and Mexico in command of the HMS Conway, a Royal Navy sixth-rate post ship (smaller than a frigate). Sensitive to both physical and human geography, Hall's travelogue gives readers a sense of the continent's natural and cultural diversity as well as its contemporary political turbulence. Darwin notably had the book with him aboard the Beagle. Volume 1 covers Hall's travels along the coasts of Chile and Peru. In Volume 2, he traces his journey from Peru to Ecuador, Panama and Mexico.