Journal de la navigation autour du globe de la frégate La Thétis et de la corvette L'Espérance pendant les années 1824, 1825 et 1826. Publié par ordre du Roi sous les auspices du Département de la Marine

First edition of this significant travel account, which retraces a major circumnavigation with key stopovers including Île Bourbon, Pondicherry, Singapore, Manila, Macao, Tourane, the Anambas Islands, Java, Surabaya, Port Jackson, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Rio de Janeiro.

The atlas volume contains 56 plates and maps, 13 of which are hand-colored (cf. Sabin 6875; Borba de Moraes I, 115; Ferguson 2236; Nissen ZBI, 483; British Museum (Natural History) II, 605).

The text volumes are bound in contemporary navy blue half calf, flat spines faded and decorated with gilt and blind-ruled fillets, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some rubbing to joints, edges and corners. Contemporary bindings.

The atlas volume is bound in contemporary violet half calf over marbled boards, flat spine with gilt and blind fillets, joints split at head and foot, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Contemporary binding.

Some foxing, mainly affecting the text volumes; corners of the atlas worn; small tear without loss on p. 81 of vol. I.

The two ships involved in this expedition were the frigate Thétis, commanded by Hyacinthe de Bougainville, leader of the expedition, and the corvette Espérance, under the command of Paul de Nourquer du Camper. The first volume contains a complete account of the voyage, from the departure from Brest on March 2, 1824, to the return to the same port on June 24, 1826. It also includes the official instructions issued to Bougainville and the list of officers comprising the expedition staff (p. 25).

The second volume recounts the overland journey from Valparaíso to Buenos Aires made by Edmond de La Touanne across the Andes and the Pampas, followed by his commentary on the historical plates, the natural history section by Lesson, and the astronomical and meteorological observations.

The atlas includes 34 historical plates depicting the Philippines, Macao, Cochinchina, Australia, Chile, and Brazil (including six views of Rio de Janeiro); 12 hand-colored plates of natural history (mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, plants, and the heteradelphous Ake); 6 large hydrographic maps; 2 coastal views; 1 double-page colored plate of boats and pirogues from the Chinese seas and the Sunda Islands; and 1 folding map showing the full itinerary of the expedition.

The son of the renowned navigator and explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, Hyacinthe de Bougainville was born in Brest in 1781. A graduate of the École Polytechnique, he joined the navy, took part in the Baudin expedition to the Pacific (1800–1803), and served on Bruix's staff. He was appointed frigate captain in 1811 and commanded the Cérès, being captured in 1814 by two British ships. Promoted to ship's captain in August 1821, he led, from 1824 to 1826 aboard the Thétis and the Espérance, a circumnavigation that took him to the Philippines, Macao, Tourane, Singapore, Surabaya, and Sydney, from which he brought back valuable political, strategic, and commercial intelligence. Promoted to rear admiral in May 1838, he died in 1846. Cf. Taillemite.