Melbourne, and the Chincha Islands; With Sketches of Lima, and a Voyage Round the World

New York: Charles Scribner, 1854. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. George Peck was an American writer who traveled round the world as a ship passenger and wrote this travelogue while on board ship. In addition to describing the adventures of sailing, including encountering turbulent weather and observing small island communities, he describes in detail his time in Melbourne, Australia and in visiting the Chincha Islands, which is a small group of islands just off the coast of Peru near the city of Pisco. These islands are best known for being covered with guano, which was harvested for commercial use in the mid-1800s. Peck describes trying to walk in guano and watching foreign laborers hard at work on these otherwise unpopulated islands. He also recounts his visit to Lima. Octavo. Purple cloth-covered boards blind-stamped on front and back covers, with title in gilt to spine. Spine is sunned to brown, as are some edges of covers. Minor rubbing to top and bottom of spine and to edges of covers. Heavy foxing to front and rear endpapers. Text block has minor foxing on some pages, but is otherwise clean. 294 pages. TRAVEXP/060425.