Advanced Search





Article Archives Search

Archives

  • April, 2013
  • March, 2013
  • February, 2013
  • January, 2013
  • December, 2012
  • November, 2012
  • select

AE Monthly

AE Reviews

 
Voyages and Travels from Reg and Philip Remington

The latest Voyages and Travels from the Remingtons.


By Michael Stillman

Reg and Philip Remington
of St. Albans in the UK have issued their 37th catalogue of Voyages and Travels. This catalogue offers a wide range of such books. You will find everything from a complete set of Captain Cook's three voyages to those of adventurers whose names you probably never heard before. There is a British edition of Lewis and Clark, but there are also obscure, though challenging, round the world sea voyages. Such circumnavigations were still taking place in the early 18th century, and conditions and technology were not that far advanced from what famed explorers like Cook or even Magellan experienced. However, since most of the world had been at least modestly explored and "discovered" by Europeans at that point, these explorers rarely achieved "firsts" or fame. The result is they are not well remembered, though their journeys may have been as difficult and exciting as those of their predecessors. Here is a collection of exciting travels and those who collect within this area will find the Remingtons' latest catalogue an outstanding resource.

Captain A.J. von Krusenstern was not the first to circumnavigate the world, but despite his Germanic name, he led the first Russian expedition to so traverse the Earth. Among his officers was Kotzebue, noted for later Alaskan and Pacific Northwest expeditions. Among the many places visited were China, Japan and Brazil. Part of his assignment was to survey California for a possible Russian settlement and fully study the northwest coast of America. Item 8 in this catalogue is the 1813 first English edition of his account, Voyage Round the World, 1803-1806. Priced at £7,500 (British pounds, or approximate US equivalent of $13,876).

Baron von Langsdorff accompanied Krusenstern on his voyage, but got off at Alaska in 1805 to study the Russian-American Company on behalf of the Czar. In 1806, he traveled to San Francisco for supplies, and provides what is reported to be one of the best descriptions of the town and surrounding areas at this time. He also relates his journey along the Pacific coast, and his return trip across Siberia to St. Petersburg. The title is Voyages and Travels in Various Parts of the World, 1803-07. Item 9. £8,500 (US $15.725).

Everyone knows of Captain William Bligh's unsuccessful attempt to import breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the Caribbean. Bligh captained the His Majesty's Armed Vessel the Bounty, only to find his crew somewhat displeased with his leadership. The result was the most famous mutiny ever on the seas. Among the many inappropriate deeds done by the mutineers was the throwing overboard of the breadfruit tree saplings Bligh had collected. What is little remembered is that a couple of years later, after Bligh's harrowing escape and return to England, he set out again on the Providence to transport breadfruit trees from the Pacific. This time, he was successful. Nevertheless, his unsuccessful voyage remains the one we all know. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce had offered a reward for the successful transport of breadfruit trees, and Bligh's successful journey is written up in the 1794 edition of their Transactions of the Society (pages 305-307). Item 66. £650 (US $1,201).

Voyages and Travels from Reg and Philip Remington

Arctic explorer Frederick William Beechey.


Frederick Beechey was a British arctic explorer who first served under the major names of his era, William Parry and John Franklin. His skills were such that in 1825, he was given command of the Blossom and sent on a mission to assist the other two in search of a Northwest Passage. At the time, Franklin was attempting a land journey up the Mackenzie River, while Parry was proceeding across the Arctic from the east. Beechey was sent up the Pacific coast and through the Bering Strait in an attempt to meet them from the west. They never did meet, but Beechey later learned that he had missed Franklin by just a few days and 150 miles. You can learn about his Arctic adventures in this first edition of his Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to co-operate with the Polar Expeditions (of 1825-8), published in 1831. However, there is much more covered in this book, as Beechey's journey also took him to San Francisco, Hawaii, Okinawa, and even Pitcairn Island, where he interviewed John Adams, last survivor of the mutiny on the Bounty. Item 50. £6,800 (US $12,569).

One of the most important circumnavigations was that of the Beagle, but for a different type of discovery than those of the typical voyage. The Beagle and its sister ship the Adventure were part of a ten-year exploration, but it was not the captain's discoveries we best remember. It was those of his naturalist, Charles Darwin, who observed plants, animals, and natives at their many stops. It was these observations that would later lead him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin's findings are contained in the third volume of this four-volume set. It is the Narrative of the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S.'s Ships "Adventure" and "Beagle," 1826-36. Item 84. £25,000 (US $46,202).

You can find Reg and Philip Remington online at www.remingtonbooks.com, telephone 01727-893531.