THE NORTH PACIFIC SURVEYING AND EXPLORING EXPEDITION; OR MY LAST CRUISE. WHERE W

Philadelphia 1857, Lippincott. Brown blind stamped cloth, 28 engraved plates, including the Nude Bathing view, 507p.,very good copy, corners bumped & bit worn, gold stamped. R A R E SUBTITLE: cont. the Mouth of the Amoor River. * This is an early and fascinating primary resource and account of Japan, performed just a year after Perry's historic visit. It is also the account of a three year expedition from 1853-1856. * Nicely illustrated, and loaded with first-hand commentaries about the Japanese and Chinese customs way of life, business in Japan, about baths and bathing including the famous nude scene of the interior of a Japanese bath house full of nude men & women communally bathing. * How American brass buttons were valued in Japan, a good look at the Ainu. Of attack in Shanghai by pirates, liberation of two Chinese convicts, Loo-Choo missionaries, experiences & visits to Japan, Malaya &c. * The author was a an acting Lieutenant and a surveyor in the U.S. Navy who surveyed the North Pacific. Handsomely illustrated with a profusion of steel engraved plates and numerous woodcuts. * A fabulous early American account of the area, with keen insights to the people, culture and customs. Habersham [1826-1883] also participated in a surveying mission of the the China Seas. He was later assigned to the Powhatan and became famous for being the first American to import Japanese tea to the America. * Habersham's narrative and the illustrations are of a very personal nature: among the plates is a wonderful rendition of "women admiring a watch" & the nude "bathing scene" far more lewd that the infamous Perry nude bathing scene. *** BIBLIOGRAPHY" H. Cordier 516. * Hill 437. *** .