Four Years in the Pacific. In Her Majesty's Ship “Collingwood.” From 1844 to 1848

London: Richard Bentley, 1849, 2 volumes, 8vo, (222 x 135mm.) pp. 432; 415, Frontispiece in each volume engraved by J.W. Cook after drawings by John Speer, woodcut illustrations in text. original blindstamped blue cloth, gilt-lettered spines, early signature on title page, a very attractive copy.

First Edition.

‘A lively account by an English Officer’. Forbes 

Walpole (1822-1876) was a British naval officer and politician who was the father of Robert Walpole. Arriving at California on July 16, 1846, the crew was astonished to discover the place under U.S. control. Only a few days after they anchored, Frémont also arrived. Although Walpole liked scenic Monterey, he was somewhat shocked at some of the incidents and people encountered and in the end remarks, “It was with little regret, and no idea of the hidden treasures since discovered, that the anchor was weighed, and we set sail for the Sandwich Islands” (vol. 2, p. 219). “The Collingwood was the flagship of Admiral Sir George Seymour, commander-in-chief in the Pacific, despatched to lend weight to British diplomacy in relation to the French in the Pacific islands and the United States on the north-west coast of America, a task which he fulfilled with great ‘tact, ability, and decision’” (DNB). Walpole’s account of this cruise relates extensively to the Pacific coast of South America and also to Hawaii, Tahiti, and California

“Walpole served aboard the H.M.S. Collingwood, flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir George Seymour and the first British ship-of-the-line to enter the Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn since the voyage of Lord Anson in 1741. Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Juan Fernandez Island, Tahiti and the Society Islands, Mexico, California, the Hawaiian Islands, and Samoa were visited. The Collingwood arrived at Monterey a few days after the American flag had been raised there by John Drake Sloat.” – Hill.

Forbes, 1757; Hill, 1815; Sabin, 101142.