Lieut. J M Gilliss, The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere During the Years 1849 - ’50 - ’51- ’52, Volumes I and II, Chile, Washington: A. O. P. Nicholson, Printer. MDCCCLV [1855], printed for the House of Representatives, 33d Congress, 1st Session, a first edition. Volume 1 focuses on the geography, climate, earthquakes, government, social condition, and mineral and agricultural resources of Chile, with five raised bands, six gilt-ruled compartments with U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition in gilt letters and Buffington on heel of the spine, beautiful relief covers with gilt dentelles and gilt decorations on red and black panels, gilt dentelles on a pale blue front paste-down, pale blue endpapers, a full-page black and white frontis of Santa Lucia followed by the title page, then a Message from the President, a Preface (Prefatory), seven pages of Contents, including errata (Corrigenda), and a List of Illustrations.
The first map is astounding - a large colored fold-out panoramic view from the Summit of Santa Lucia in Santiago - it measures 70 inches long when unfolded - and 41 more plates, for a total of 556 pages in Volume I, including the Appendices and an Index. Volume II focuses on minerals, Indian antiquities, and the zoology of Chile, with beautiful plates of native birds and reptiles, and it has a total of 300 pages, including more Appendices and an Index. Volumes 3 and 6 are not here - that would make the
set ginormous - and Volumes 4 and 5 were never published. J. Buffington was a Massachusetts member of Congress.
These are the first two volumes of an account of an American expedition to Chile, sponsored by the American government. The expedition was led by Lieut James Melville Gilliss between 1849 and 1852 and it went overland to Panama City, then across the South Pacific to Callao, Valparaiso, and Santiago. The book is 4to. and
measures 11 1/4 x 9 3/4 x 3 3/8 in. deep - it looks like an old bible - with light browning spots here and there, light rubbing on the heel and crown and along the edges of the spine, and the two volumes mark a vast leap forward in our understanding about the cities, towns, and natural history of Chile. Sabin 27419.