A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery of the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands (War of 1812 Provenance - U.S. Naval Officer Joel W. Abbot Signatures)

This is an interesting copy of "A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery of the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands" by Amasa Delano. This particular copy has ties to the War of 1812 - please see "Provenance" below. 1817 1st edition; Printed by E.G. House, for the Author; Boston. Full leather binding. With a frontispiece portrait of Delano, a portrait of "Abba Thulle" - King of the Pelew Islands taken 1791, and a partial fold-out map of "Pitcairns Island" (only 2 of the 3 panels are present). The book chronicles Massachusetts sea captain Delano's voyages between 1790 and 1810, covering the Hawaiian, "Pelew," and Galapagos islands; New Guinea, Australia, and the East Indies; Chile and Peru; and Manila, Canton and Macao. This book (chapter 18 in particular) was used as inspiration by Herman Melville for his novel "Benito Cereno."

PROVENANCE: This copy contains the handwritten names of numerous previous owners, one of whom is "Joel W. Abbot." Abbot was a U.S. Naval Officer who "served notably" in the War of 1812. Appointed Midshipman in the U.S. Navy on November 2, 1812, his first cruise was under Commodore John Rodgers in the frigate "USS President," who recommended him to Commodore Thomas Macdonough, then in command of naval forces on Lake Champlain. He was given a mission to penetrate the British lines and destroy a quantity of masts and spars. This he accomplished, having assumed the disguise of a British officer. For that service he was promoted to Lieutenant and voted a sword by Congress. From 1839 to 1842 he was Executive Officer of the Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts. ("Charlestown Navy Yard" - which is the original name of the "Boston Navy Yard" - is handwritten on the back of the Abba Thulle portrait.)

Condition:
White staining along the bottom edge of the front cover and spine. Small chip at the top-right corner of the spine, and at the bottom edge of the spine. Tight binding. Both covers are firmly attached. The rear end paper is present, but has detached. The primary condition issue with this copy is that there is dampstaining to the pages throughout the book. Despite the dampstaining, the pages are highly readable and are not brittle. The "Pitcairns Island" fold-out map is incomplete with 2 of the 3 panels present - the left-hand panel has torn away and is not present. The frontispiece and title page have pulled from the spine 1" down from the top edge. The book begins with the frontispiece, so at least one blank front end paper has been removed. Numerous names/dates/addresses written in old handwriting on the end papers, frontispiece and title pages; a few pages within have handwritten notes in old handwriting. Page 23 has tears along the perimeter. Overall the book is in Fair condition.