Lot 46. KOTZEBUE, Otto von.

The rare special issue on thick paper with extra colouring. Only 88 subscriptions (out of 587 in total) were received for this issue and it is rarely offered for sale. A voyage narrative famous for its descriptions of Alaska (‘rich in early original source material’, Lada-Mocarski), California (particularly San Francisco and the surrounding missions), Hawai’i, and Micronesia. Kotzebue comments extensively on Hawai’i, and the narrative includes the famous portrait by Louis Choris of King Kamehameha I in his red vest.

First edition. 3 vols in 2, 4to, [vi], xviii, [vi], 168; 176; 241pp. One of only 88 copies on thick wove paper with extra colouring. 7 engraved maps and charts (6 folding), 7 hand-coloured aquatint plates (3 folding), one monochrome plate and 11 hand-coloured butterfly plates, contemporary(?) purple cloth gilt, slightly rubbed and faded, modern morocco-backed book-form box.

[Forbes I, 525; Hill 943; Lada-Mocarski 80; Sabin 38284.]