[TRAVEL] NARRATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. DURING THE YEARS 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. [5 VOLUMES]

Philadelphia: Not Identified, 1849. Full Leather. Very Good binding. Five large octavo volumes; in full calf, with boards triple ruled in blind to the perimeters; the upper boards stamped in gilt with a vignette in gilt of an American eagle resting on a shield and conucopia and peering at a schooner in the distance; the spines have raised bands and black leather labels; with many plates, music, and with 15 maps, mostly folded; there is trrivial wear to the top of the of Volume III.~~On the title page, the set calls for "Five Volumes, and an Atlas"; this set lacks an Atlas, but has the fifteen maps.~~Charles Wilkes, while not yet a seasonsed naval officer, was given the command of the exploring expedition described in this lengthy account. The act of Congress authorizing the expedition charged that it was "to determine the existence of all doubtful islands and shoals, as to discover, and accurately fix, the position of those which [lay] in or near the track of our vessels in that quarter, and [might] have escaped the observation of scientific navigators" [Congress, May 18, 1836]. ~~The Expedition came to be known as the Wilkes Expedition and was the first United States exploring expedition.~~The set is quite handsome.~~. Very Good binding.