Bidspirit auction | 1856. Hawks, Francis L. Narrative

1856. Hawks, Francis L. Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan. A. O. P. Nicholson. Volume 1. - A quarto-sized volume titled Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, Performed in the Years 1852, 1853, and 1854, Under the Command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy. This is Volume 1 of the official narrative report, compiled from the original notes and journals of Commodore Perry and his officers by Francis L. Hawks. The work was published by order of the Congress of the United States and printed in Washington by A. O. P. Nicholson in 1856. The volume is bound in the original publisher's brown cloth featuring ornate blind-stamped architectural and floral decorations on the front and rear boards. The spine is gold-stamped with a nautical illustration of two ships and identifies the work as a House of Representatives issue for the Navy Department. The contents include numerous woodcut illustrations integrated with the text and several full-page lithograph plates, including Regent of Lew Chew and U.S. Steam Frigate Mississippi Passing Punta Tristao. The volume also contains large fold-out maps, including the Map of the Japan Islands compiled by order of Commodore M. C. Perry and dated 1855, as well as a large track chart of the flagships. The original cloth binding exhibits significant wear consistent with age. There is heavy fraying and loss of cloth material at the head and tail of the spine, as well as at the corners of the boards. The cloth on the spine is sunned and shows some splitting along the joints. The boards show scuffing, bumping, and surface soil. Internally, the pages and plates display scattered foxing and areas of dampstaining, primarily concentrated along the margins. The fold-out maps have creases from original folding and show minor edge wear and small tears at the fold junctions. The binding remains structurally sound but shows evident physical deterioration.