Wanderings in South America, the North-West of the United States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812, 1816, 1820 and 1824. With original instructions for the perfect preservation of birds, etc. for cabinets of natural history.
Charles Waterton
Leather Bound
(London: J. Mawman, 1825. First edition., March 15, 1825)
Pp. (1, half-title), vii, 326; engraved frontispiece plate of a 'Nondescript.' Later one-half maroon polished calf leather, spine with five raised bands lettered in gilt in one compartment, over early marbled boards with marbled endpapers, sm 4to (11 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches; 296 mm x 223 mm). This is an untrimmed, wide-margin copy of a true classic on travel and exploration in the Americas. As a young man, Waterton made four trips to the New World - three to British Guiana (Guyana) and one to the United States and the Antilles. The first was devoted to uncovering the secrets of making curare, the Indian's potent poison, "a gloomy and mysterious operation;" the second was spent collecting specimens of birds; the third encompassed general natural history, with a special emphasis on pests: "quadrupeds, serpents, and insects;" the fourth was a general kind of wander, featuring a foot-bath in Niagara Falls, and a brief ride on the back of a cayman. During his travels to Guyana, Waterton was the first to give a detailed account of the life of the sloth. His bird-collecting trip resulted in specimens of over 200 species, and among the many notes on birds are his interesting records of the indigenous peoples' names for various species. Waterton was famously strange, rating a chapter all his own in Edith Sitwell's 'English Eccentrics.' As she puts it, "he was never so happy as when performing the unexpected," such as the wrestling match with the cayman, or the nights spent with his bare foot hanging out of his hammock, hoping that a vampire bat would dine upon his toe. See also Howes, W-158; Palau, 374216; and Sabin, 102094. No ownership marks.