Voyage autour du monde – Lesson – 1839 | 1st Edition, 2 Vols, French Naval Exploration

The 1839 Paris first edition of Voyage autour du monde sur la corvette la Coquille by R.P. Lesson is a complete two-volume set documenting a major French scientific voyage around the world. Lesson, serving as ship’s surgeon and naturalist, wrote the narrative based on the Coquille’s government-sponsored expedition from 1822 to 1825. The books cover the route through South America, the Pacific Islands, New Guinea, Australia, and Southeast Asia, including observations on animals, plants, and local cultures.

The expedition was one of France’s key early 19th-century naval explorations. These volumes preserve Lesson’s firsthand notes on natural history and cultural contact across a wide part of the globe.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Voyage autour du monde, entrepris par ordre du gouvernement sur la corvette la Coquille
• Author(s): René Primevère Lesson
• Publisher: Paris, P. Pourrat Frères
• Edition: First Edition, 1839
• Format: Octavo, two volumes
• Binding: Quarter calf, gilt spine, marbled boards
• Size:  9.25 in x 6.25 in (23.5 cm x 16 cm)
• Collation:
  • Vol I: [4], 510, [2] pp
  • Vol II: [4], 547 (i.e., 548), [2] pp
• Illustrations: 41 full-page engravings, some in color
• Contents Include:
  • Numerous views of local tribes and their tools, animals, and birds
  • Descriptions of Brazil, Cape Horn, Chile, Tahiti, New Guinea, Port Jackson in Sydney, Australia, Mauritius, etc.

Condition:

Bound in matching 19th-century quarter calf over marbled boards with gilt-decorated spines. Both volumes show minor edgewear and rubbing, consistent with age. Text is secure in the binding and unmarked aside from toning and mild foxing throughout. Plates are crisp impressions on thick paper, and the original French typography is clear. Marbled endpapers intact.

Why Collect This?

• 1839 first edition of a major global voyage narrative
• Complete two-volume issue with original binding
• Early French account of Pacific exploration and natural history

INVENTORY NUMBER (SKU): #28746