Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2006 Issue
Voyages and Travels from Reg and Philip Remington
Arctic explorer Frederick William Beechey.
Frederick Beechey was a British arctic explorer who first served under the major names of his era, William Parry and John Franklin. His skills were such that in 1825, he was given command of the Blossom and sent on a mission to assist the other two in search of a Northwest Passage. At the time, Franklin was attempting a land journey up the Mackenzie River, while Parry was proceeding across the Arctic from the east. Beechey was sent up the Pacific coast and through the Bering Strait in an attempt to meet them from the west. They never did meet, but Beechey later learned that he had missed Franklin by just a few days and 150 miles. You can learn about his Arctic adventures in this first edition of his Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to co-operate with the Polar Expeditions (of 1825-8), published in 1831. However, there is much more covered in this book, as Beechey's journey also took him to San Francisco, Hawaii, Okinawa, and even Pitcairn Island, where he interviewed John Adams, last survivor of the mutiny on the Bounty. Item 50. £6,800 (US $12,569).
One of the most important circumnavigations was that of the Beagle, but for a different type of discovery than those of the typical voyage. The Beagle and its sister ship the Adventure were part of a ten-year exploration, but it was not the captain's discoveries we best remember. It was those of his naturalist, Charles Darwin, who observed plants, animals, and natives at their many stops. It was these observations that would later lead him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin's findings are contained in the third volume of this four-volume set. It is the Narrative of the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S.'s Ships "Adventure" and "Beagle," 1826-36. Item 84. £25,000 (US $46,202).
You can find Reg and Philip Remington online at www.remingtonbooks.com, telephone 01727-893531.
