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, &c. for Cabinets of Natural History.

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326 pp. First edition; later 3/4 calf; marble boards; raised cords; dark brown, morocco label, gilt stamped; edges stained and trimmed; blue-black headbands; frontispiece lithograph ("A Nondescript"). Binding tight; boards moderate edge wear; f.p. foxing otherwise internally pristine; see additional images provided. Waterton made two trips to the northern coast of South America and through his descriptive writing caused a stir in Victorian England with the publication of a drawing of a half man, half animal creature he was supposed to have seen (the fp.). Quoting Borba 937: "Charles Waterton (1781-1865) was born in Yorkshire, educated at a Catholic college, travelled in Spain and in 1804 sailed to British Guiana with his father, who owned property there. Waterton returned to England in 1806 after his father's death. He made four other voyages to the Guianas, and travelled across them and the northern part of South America for a period of ten years. On his first voyage, in 1812, he sailed the Demerara, Essequibo, and Rio Branco rivers. One of the aims of this journey was to obtain 'curare' which he calls 'Wourali.' He was successful and returned to England with a sample with which he made experiments to find out its properties. In 1816, on his second voyage, he went to Pernambuco from where he travelled to Cayenne, and there ventured into the jungle to collect and study species, especially birds. His third and fourth voyages, in 1820 and 1824, again took him to the Guianas. The value of Waterton's work lies in the fact that he was the first to observe and describe 'd'apr?s nature' the birds and animals of the tropics, largely known only from museum specimens. Waterton was not truly a scientist; he lacked formal scientific education since his field was the humanities. He was well aware of the taste of the general public for adventures and never missed an opportunity to describe most extraordinary ones, of how he captured a boa constrictor, a crocadile, etc. Waterton was eccentric. He travelled barefoot across jungles and in England slept on the floor using a board as a pillow. Size: 28 x 22 cm. 0.0. N° de ref. del artículo 3527

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