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[VARGAS Y PONCE, José de] [c1755-1821].. Relación Del Último Viage Al Estrecho De Magdallanes De La Fragata De S. M. Santa María De La Cabeza En Los Años De 1785 Y 1786. [WITH:] .Apendice A La Relación Del Viage Al Magallanes De La Fragata De Guerra Santa María De La Cabeza, Que Contiene El De Los Paquebotes Santa Casilda Y Santa Eulalia Para Completar El Reconocimiento Del Estrecho En Los Años De 1788 Y 1789.

2 Volumes in 1. 4to. pp. 3 p.l., xvi, 70, 75-359; 2 p.l., 128. 4 folding tables numbered 71-74 inserted between pp. 70 and 75 in Vol. I. 1 folding table in Vol II. engraved portrait of Magellan by Ferdinand Selma. 5 large folding engraved maps, 2 with 12 plans of ports, another with 3 inset plans. 19th century quarter roan (spine incorrectly lettered, occasional light spotting, last map stained, few short insignificant tears in maps). First Edition, complete with the Rare Supplement. An account of Don Antonio de Córdoba's scientific and hydrographic survey of the Strait of Magellan, 1785-86, 1788-89, compiled by José de Vargas Y Ponce, Spanish geographer and naval officer, mainly from the journals of Córdoba's lieutenants, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Alejandro Belmonte. The expedition was appointed by the Spanish Crown to determine the exact navigability of the strait and the advisability of the Spaniards continuing to use the passage in voyages to the Pacific, as well as to investigate the plant and animal life of the region, with a view toward colonization. The findings were negative and the Spaniards subsequently exclusively favoured overland trade routes from east coast ports of South America to the Pacific ports. Included in the first volume are extensive notes on the natural history and climate of the region, an account of the customs of the Patagonian Indians, and a resumé of discovery and exploration from the time of the discovery of the strait by Magellan through the voyages of Sarmiento de Gamboa, Drake, Spilberg, Narborough, Carteret, Bougainville, &c. Bell V25 (without the supplement). Hill p. 305. Howgego C180. JCB II 3224. Sabin 16765 (without the supplement & incorrectly attributing the work to Córdoba).

$4496 USD