49. [LA PÉROUSE, Jean-François de Galaup (1741-1788)]. Voyage de La Pérouse Autour du Monde, Publié Conformément au Décret du 22 Avril 1791, et Rédigé par M. L. A. Milet-Mureau, Général de Brigade dans le Corps du Génie, Directeur des Fortifications, Ex-Constituant, Membre de Plusieurs Sociétés Littéraires de Paris.... Paris: De L’Imprimerie de la République, [Imprimé par les soins de P. D. Duboy-Laverne] An V. (1797). 5 vols.: 4 vols., 4to (text) + folio (atlas). Text: [4] lxxii, 346 [1] + [4] 398 [1] + [4] 422 [1] + [4] 309 pp., copper-engraved frontispiece portrait of La Pérouse. 4 vols., large 4to, original blue and green boards, printed paper spine labels (expertly rebacked, original spines and printed spine labels retained). Fragile original boards and labels worn, stained, and rubbed, occasional mild foxing to text, but overall a very good to fine copy—a very desirable, uncut large paper copy, in original boards, printed on very pale green thick paper. The leaves measure 30.9 x 23.6 cm (12-1/4 x 9-5/16 inches), same as the Henry H. Clifford and Thomas W. Streeter copies. Preserved in a black cloth box. Atlas: [2, copper-engraved emblematic title (including a chart of the Pacific showing the track of the voyage)] pp., 69 copper-engraved plates, maps, and charts on thick paper, one of which is folding and 20 double-page [see below for a partial list of maps, charts, and profiles]. The frontispiece portrait of La Pérouse found in some copies of the atlas is not present in this copy (Lada-Mocarski [52] states that the portrait is sometimes absent in the large paper variant of the atlas, like the present copy). Large folio, full contemporary calf (expertly rebacked in a style sympathetic with the four volumes of text). The atlas is the large paper issue (57 x 44.4 cm; 22-1/2 x 16-3/4 inches), apparently slightly trimmed when bound, but still with generous margins, only slightly shorter than the Clifford atlas, which was uncut, and a bit taller than Streeter’s copy of the atlas. Some outer wear to atlas, but overall very fine, all of the maps, charts, and plates fresh, bright, and in good, strong impressions. All in all, this is a handsome set of a rare voyage.
          First edition, the desirable large paper copy, Forbes binding A. Allen, “Laperouse: A Check List” in California Historical Quarterly 20 (1941), p. 50. Anker, Bird Books and Bird Art 276 (with note on ornithological text and artists). Barrett, Baja California 1435. Brunet 19862. Cowan I, pp. 135-36n (citing the 1799 London edition) & p. 273: “[La Pérouse] landed at Monterey in September, 1780. His stay was only ten days, but during the visit he was able to give the best account of the period of natural resources. It is of interest to note that he was the first foreign visitor to come to these shores after the founding of Upper California’s first mission.” Cowan II, p. 383. Ferguson, Australia 268. Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography 272: “The portrait of La Pérouse...is frequently bound as a frontispiece to Volume I but is sometimes found bound in the atlas.... Of particular interest to Hawaii is the plate that depicts the French ships off Makena, Maui. It is the first fully developed view of that island.” Grinnell, California Ornithology, p. 7 (first item). Graff 2397n (citing a 1798 London edition). Hill, p. 173. Harlow, Maps of San Francisco Bay 15 (early printed map of the port of San Francisco); Maps of the Pueblo Lands of San Diego 9 (second printed map of the port of San Diego). Holliday 636. Howell 50, California 141. Howes L93. Huntington Library, Zamorano 80...Exhibition of Famous and Notorious California Classics 49. JCB 3907 (text vols.). Lada-Mocarski 52. Libros Californianos, p. 39 (Powell commentary). Lopez Memorial Museum, Catalogue of Filipiana Materials 261. Mathes, California Colonial Bibliography 69. McLaren 1. Nordenskiöld II:133. Phillips, Atlases 688. Phillips, Maps of America, p. 1095. Smith 2109. Staton & Tremaine 596. Streeter Sale 3493. Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 837-848, pp. 199-201: “The long delay in publishing the observations and the maps of the voyage was fatal to any chance they might have had of receiving recognition.” Wickersham 6611. Zamorano 80 #49.
          Howell, Anniversary Catalogue 72 (Richard Reed’s essay): “La Pérouse’s Voyage is one of the great documents of French exploration in the Pacific Ocean. In addition to a detailed account of the expedition itself, these volumes contain invaluable scientific information, observations on the natives that were encountered, and a wealth of geographic and cartographic data. The beautiful Atlas, with its finely engraved maps, charts, and plates, includes a detailed chart of San Francisco Bay, the first representation of the crested quail, and several maps and plates of the harbors at Monterey and San Diego, as well as two charts and one view of the Sandwich Islands. It is a magnificent production, and some authorities consider the engraving and craftsmanship to be superior even to that in the Cook-Webber Atlas that accompanies the journals of the great English explorer’s third voyage. Like Cook, La Pérouse died in the service of his King and in the pursuit of geographical knowledge. Unlike Cook, however, he has not achieved the international recognition accorded the English navigator.... Nevertheless, it is one of the finest narratives of maritime exploration ever written, and certainly deserves to hold a place of high honor among the great travel accounts of the eighteenth century.”
          The handsome atlas contains maps, charts, profiles, and plates (views on land and at sea, natural history, costumed groups of ethnological interest, etc.). “[La Perouse's survey of the west coast of North America] was superior to Cook's or any other at the time; only Vancouver's exhaustive survey would prove more accurate.” (Derek Hayes, Historical Atlas of the North Pacific Ocean: Maps of Discovery and Scientific Exploration 1500-2000 [Seattle: North Pacific Marine Science Organization, 2001, p. 104, illustrating several maps and prints]).

Maps, charts, and profiles of California and Northwest Coast interest:

Plate 1: Mappe monde ou carte réduite des parties connues du globe pour servir au voyage de La Pérouse fait dans les annés 1785, 1786, 1787, et 1788... (59.5 x 92.7 cm; 23-1/2 x 36-1/2 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 837. First printing of this key world map on the Mercator projection centering on the Pacific. Coastal details are emphasized, and the route of La Pérouse’s voyage to Botany Bay is tracked.

Plate 3: Carte du Grand Océan ou Mer du Sud dressée pour la relation du voyage de découvertes... (49.5 x 69.3 cm; 19-5/8 x 27-1/4 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 838. This map gives good detail on the island groups explored. It includes all of North America, most of South America, and the eastern coast of Asia. Australia is shown, with its southern coast unexplored. Bits of the New Zealand and New Guinea coastlines still remain blank.

Plate 15: Carte des côtes de l’Amérique et de l’Asie, depuis la Californie jusqu’à Macao... (50 x 68.5 cm; 19-5/8 x 27 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 839. Chart showing the coast of America and Asia from California to Macao.

Plate 16: Carte général d’une partie de la côte du nord-ouest de l’Amérique... (67.2 x 49.5 cm; 26-1/2 x 19-3/8 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 840. Detailed chart of the Northwest from Monterey to Mount St. Elias in Alaska, locating all known harbors and delineating coastal topography, including elevations, rivers, bays, points, and capes.

Plates 17, 29, and 31: (Plate 17) Carte Particulière de la côte du nord-ouest de l'Amérique...1e. feuille... (Plate 29) Carte Particulière de la côte du nord-ouest de l'Amérique...2e. feuille... (Plate 31) Carte Particulière de la côte du nord-ouest de l'Amérique...3e...feuille. Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 841, 844, 845. Three plates each containing three sections, showing the same coastal area as in Plate 16. Each plate measures approximately 49.5 x 67 cm (19-1/2 x 26-1/2 inches). Plate 31 illustrates the Pacific from Monterey Bay almost to the Columbia River.

Plate 19: Plan du Port des Français (50 x 69 cm; 19-3/4 x 27-1/4 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 842. This map illustrates Lituya Bay, on the southern coast of Alaska, the only haven for seafarers facing the open sweep of the Pacific on the passage north from Cross Sound to Yakutat. La Pérouse recommended that France establish its base in Alaska at Port des Français, which he described in his journal as “perhaps the most extraordinary place in the world.” Unfortunately, on July 13, 1786, La Pérouse’s “calm waters” suddenly swallowed up 21 of his finest officers and men as they attempted to sound the waters at the entrance to Lituya Bay. None of the bodies were recovered. This site with its potential for terror is probably best known for the earthquake-caused tsunami on July 8, 1958, the first wave of which reached a height of some 1,720 feet, said to be the biggest wave ever recorded.

Plate 26: Plan de l’entrée du Port de Bucarelli (50 x 69 cm; 19-3/4 x 27-1/4 inches). Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 843. Wagner mentions similarity to Dalrymple’s 1789 map (but with corrections). La Pérouse stated that he acquired the plan in Manila in 1787 (probably from Mourelle, according to Wagner). Bucarelli Bay in southeast Alaska was for a time thought to be the entrance to the Northwest Passage. La Pérouse was among the early European visitors to the area.

Plate 33: Plan du Port de S^t. François, situé sur la côte de la Californie Septiontrionale... (50.2 x 33.5 cm; 19-3/8 x 13-1/8 inches). Early printed map of the port of San Francisco (preceded by various incarnations by Cañizares, Dalrymple, and Vancouver). Harlow, Maps of San Francisco Bay 15. Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 846. Wagner states that this plan of San Francisco Bay was copied from Camacho’s map of 1779 (see Wagner 667).

Plate 34: Plan de la Baie de Monterey... (33.4 x 50.1 cm; 13-1/4 x 19-3/8 inches). Harlow, Maps of the Pueblo Lands of San Diego, p. 10: “On September 15, 1786...La Pérouse anchored in Monterey Bay—among the spouting whales.... He sent home a chart of Monterey Bay, made in part from his own surveys.” Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 847. Early printed plan of Monterey Bay, said by Wagner to have been drawn by some of La Pérouse’s officers.

Plate 35: Plan du Port de S^t. Diego... [with] Plan du Port et Department de St. Blas... (48 x 33.6 cm; 18-7/8 x 13-1/4 inches). Two charts on one sheet. Second printed map of San Diego (preceded by Dalrymple’s 1789 printed chart based on Juan Pantoja y Arriaga’s 1782 manuscript map of the port of San Diego; see Wagner 687). Harlow, Maps of the Pueblo Lands of San Diego 9: “When the first president of the Mexican republic came to issue a series of charts of Mexico’s coasts in 1825, that of San Diego was...a virtual copy of the one in the 1797 La Pérouse atlas.” Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 848. See Muriel Strickland’s comments in California 49: Forty-Nine Maps of California from the Sixteenth Century to the Present (19) referring to this French printing. Regarding the other chart on this plate, San Blas (on the coast of Nayarit) was established as a Naval Department by José de Gálvez in 1768 for the specific purpose of supplying the new missions and presidios to be founded in Alta California.

Plate 36: Perdrix, Mâle et Femele, de la Californie (26.5 x 40 cm; 10-1/2 x 15-3/4 inches). Zamorano 80 #49 (Robert J. Woods): “The first picture of the crested quail to be shown in Europe.” This beautiful species, the California Quail (Callipepla californica), was named the official California State Bird in 1931. Its original range stretched from Baja California to a small portion of Western Nevada and the southern counties of Oregon.

Plate 37: Promerops de la Californie Septentrionale (40.7 x 25.4 cm; 16 x 10 inches). This ornithological plate depicts the California thrasher, which is endemic to the coastal and foothill areas of California, extending with the chaparral vegetation into adjacent areas of northwest Baja California. This species was first collected by the La Pérouse expedition, probably at Monterey in 1786.

Plate 67: 2 charts on one double-page sheet: Partie de la Mer du Sud comprise entre les Philippines et la Californie (49.5 x 67.3 cm; 19-1/2 x 26-1/2 inches). The two charts depict the Pacific between California and Manila and show the tracks of the voyages of Anson, the Spanish galleon, and La Pérouse.

49B. LA PÉROUSE, Jean-François de Galaup. A Voyage round the World, Performed in the Years 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788.... Published by Order of the National Assembly, under the Superintendence of L. A. Milet-Mureau...Translated from the French. London: Printed by A. Hamilton, for G. G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row; J. Edwards, Pall-Mall; and T. Payne, Mews-Gate, Castle-Street, 1799 (text) & 1798 (atlas). 3 vols.: 2 vols., 4to (text) + folio (atlas). Text: [6] lvi, 539 + viii [1]-240, 249-304, *297-*304, 305-312, *305-*312, 313-320, *313-*320, 321-531 [1] [14, index] [1, errata] pp., copper-engraved portrait. 2 vols., 4to, full contemporary tree calf with ornamental gilt borders on upper and lower covers, gilt-decorated spines with original black and green leather labels (label at foot of each spine gilt-stamped “I. Woolery’s”), marbled endpapers, inner gilt dentelles matching ornamental rule on covers. Vol. 1 lacking half-title; also without the “List of the Charts and Plates to the Atlas” (often lacking). Bindings worn, rubbed, and dry, two joints starting to split and occasional inconsequential foxing to text. Atlas: [2, engraved title] 68 (of 69) copper-engraved maps & plates. Folio, contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt-decorated spine with original black and green gilt-lettered leather labels (label at foot of spine gilt-stamped “I. Woolery’s”), marbled endpapers. Atlas lacking Plate 15 (chart of the coasts of America and Asia from California to Macao), but the large folding Chart No. I (world map) which is often lacking is present in this copy. Several atlas plates cropped close by a careless binder (occasional slight losses to border or plate numbers; unfortunately Plate 16 has a larger loss, with right and left edges cropped such that the coastal area south of Monterey to San Diego is not present). Atlas with mild to moderate foxing. Other than missing Plate 15 and cropped Plate 16, this is a very good to near fine set of this exceedingly rare edition, with engraved armorial bookplates of F. S. Stallknecht.
          First complete edition in English, “best English edition” (Howes). Two English editions came out in 1798—Stockdale’s with 52 plates and Johnson’s with 42 (plate count varies depending on bibliography consulted); the present edition was the first published edition in English that contained all the text, plates, and maps that appeared in the original edition published at Paris in 1797. The present edition is the English edition that Nico Israel chose to reprint in 1968, which, in our opinion, gives an indication of its importance. Cowan I, pp. 135-36: “Best edition.” Cowan II, p. 383. Ferguson, Australia 288. Forbes, Hawaiian National Bibliography 311 (collation as above). Harlow, Maps of San Francisco Bay 15n (noting appearance of the San Francisco chart in this English edition); Maps of the Pueblo Lands of San Diego 72 (noting appearance of the San Diego chart in this English edition). Hill, p. 174: “This edition is usually considered to be the best one in English...now extremely rare.” Howes L93. McLaren 10. Wagner, Cartography of the Northwest Coast 837-848n.
          Regarding the arcane collation, we quote (with acknowledgement and thanks) our Australian colleague, Gaston Renard, who offered a similarly paginated copy recently: “In Volume II there is a hiatus in the pagination—Pp. 241-248 are omitted from the pagination, but the text is complete, as examination readily shows, Pp. 238-240 & P. 249 covering period May 8-20, May 21-June 5 without any gap. There are also in Volume II additional gatherings, marked with asterisk, as follows: (a) Following Page 304 (end of 2Q) additional gathering signed *2Q, paginated *297-*304. (b) Following Page 312 (end of 2R) additional gathering signed *2R, paginated *305-*312. (c) Following Page 320 (end of 2S): additional gathering signed *2S, paginated *313-*320. These irregularities of pagination are typical of all copies we have seen. This copy lacks the list of the charts and plates to the atlas (of the references consulted only the National Maritime Museum Catalogue III [Vol. 3, No. 242] mentions this leaf, and the facsimile by Nico Israel does not contain it). The large folding chart (No. 1) is not bound into the Atlas [Note: This large folding chart is present in the Volkmann copy]—it is often also lacking—but it is present, being loosely inserted at the front of the atlas. It was not an uncommon practice for publishers of works containing large maps (relatively expensive to produce) to print only sufficient copies for immediate needs, printing further copies only as required. Should the demand then disappear, the books would be put on the market lacking the large charts. The prevalence of copies of this Atlas without the list of charts—in which is listed the large chart—suggests that this occurred with this work.”   (3 vols.)          ($4,000-8,000)

Among the most important facets of the Enlightenment were voyages of circumnavigation undertaken for scientific observation. Initiated for France by Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bouganville in 1767, and for England by James Cook in 1769, geographic, cartographic, hydrographic, geological, astronomical, meteorological, zoological, botanical, and ethnographic data were collected by scientists specifically assigned to these expeditions. As a means of expanding knowledge acquired by Cook between 1769 and his death in 1779, following the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution, France determined to surpass England in science and, in 1785 gave command of a major expedition of circumnavigation to Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de la Pérouse, who, after twenty years of naval service, had gained fame for his successful surprise capture of Fort Prince of Wales on Hudson Bay in 1782.
          Sailing from Brest on August 1, 1785, with frigates Boussole under La Pérouse and Astrolabe commanded by Paul-Antoine-Marie Fleuriot de Langle, and a complement of fifteen scientists and artists, the expedition proceeded to Madeira, Tenerife, Santa Catarina off Brazil, rounded Cape Horn, and continued to Concepción in Chile where a two-week respite was enjoyed in February and March, 1786. The ships then sailed westward to Easter Island, proceeded northward to Maui in the Hawaiian Islands in May, and continued northeasterly toward the coast of Alaska. On June 23 the great Mt. St. Elias was sighted, and navigation and charting southward along the coast slowed due to fog. Observing the endless outlets and fiords along the Alaskan coast, La Pérouse recognized the futility of a search for the Strait of Anián, a reputed water passage to the Atlantic, and, bypassing Queen Charlotte Sound, charted the coasts of Vancouver Island, Washington, Oregon, and northern California prior to anchoring on September 15 in Monterey Bay.
          The expedition was warmly welcomed by Governor Pedro Fagés and Father President of the Franciscan missions, Fray Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, successor to the recently deceased Fray Junípero Serra. After a visit of eight days, the expedition sailed on September 23 toward the Mariana Islands and on to Macau, where forty-one French, English, and Dutch ships were found at anchor on January 1, 1787. After a month at rest, La Pérouse sailed from Macau on February 5 to Cavite where he was welcomed in Manila and, disregarding warnings of the dangers of the monsoon season, he continued his voyage to Taiwan and Japan in April. Encountering heavy seas, the expedition entered the East China Sea and Sea of Japan, charting and observing the coasts of Japan and Korea, and continued to Sakhalin Island in late July. Proceeding through the Kuril Islands, La Pérouse anchored at Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula on September 6.
          Although no correspondence from France had been received in Macau, in Petropavlovsk a courier arrived with dispatches for the expedition to return southward to Botany Bay in Australia. Not having wished to risk his journals to couriers in Spanish territories or Macau for remittance to Paris, La Pérouse appointed Jean-Baptiste Barthélémy de Lesseps to carry all of the journals, charts, and data collected thus far overland to St. Petersburg. De Lesseps left Petropavlovsk for Okhotsk and Yakutsk on September 29, and the following day, Boussole and Astrolabe set sail for the south. La Pérouse, via Samoa and the Tongas, reached Botany Bay on January 24, 1788, and on March 10 the expedition sailed northward, never to be seen again. As the months turned to years, plans to search for La Pérouse were put forth, and in 1791, Joseph-Antoine Bruny d’Entrecasteaux sailed with Recherche and Espérance, following the track of the expedition and, in 1795, returned without success. It was not until 1827 that Peter Dillon, a local transpacific navigator, discovered the remains of Boussole and Astrolabe at Vanikoro Island.
          The published journal of the voyage, based upon the documentation carried overland by De Lesseps, is of particular importance for its atlas. The detailed, modern maps and fine scientific engravings are extraordinarily precise. As the first foreign visit to Alta California, the La Pérouse expedition described, delineated, and illustrated the brief visit with a view from the outside and thus the Voyage is a particularly important document of early California history. Various English-language editions appeared in London in 1798-1799 and 1807, in Boston in 1801, and in New York in 1969; a definitive scholarly edition of the original journal was edited by John Dunmore for the Hakluyt Society (London, 1994). German translations were published in Leipzig in 1799 and in Berlin in 1799-1800; a Dutch edition appeared in Amsterdam in 1801-1804, and an Italian translation was published in 1833. Subsequent French editions saw print in 1798, 1841, 1853, 1930, 1965, and 1980.

——W. Michael Mathes