First edition of one of the first accounts of a circumnavigation undertaken by a woman. Abby Jane Morrell (1809-after 1850?), who is also the author of the present work, accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell (1795-ca. 1839), on his travels. She not only describes the many places she visited, but also life on the ship, and the habits of the sailors, as that was new to her. As such, the present work is not only remarkable as a travel account, but also as a female perspective on a traditionally male world.
The Morells embarked the schooner Antarctic in September 1829 in New York. The goal of their voyage was not only to explore new regions, but also to find new commercial opportunities. They first sailed north to Newfoundland, then headed to the Cape Verde Islands and Tristan da Cunha. From there they sailed to the Kerguelen Islands in the subantarctic, which are among the most isolated places on earth. Abby is only the second woman known to have been there, and the first to write a description of her visit. The voyage then proceeded to the Pacific, where they visited New Zealand, Manilla and Fiji. When possible, Abby disembarked to see the country and meet the locals, whom she describes very favourably. She was clearly well-educated as she nearly always mentions the history of the visited locations, referencing accounts of earlier explorers and other texts. After Fiji, the Antarctic headed to the Cape of Good Hope and Europe, arriving back in New York in August 1831. Benjamin also wrote an account of this voyage, A narrative of four voyages: to the South Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Antarctic Ocean (1832), which was published the year before his wife's account, but hers was likely written earlier.
The binding has been rebacked, with the original spine laid down, a long ink stain along the fore edge of the back board and some smaller ink stains on the spine, the cloth has browned significantly. The pastedowns are foxed, and a few of the leaves are somewhat stained. Otherwise in good condition. Howgego, Exploration 1800-1850, M58; Sabin 50776; WorldCat 557480911 (1 copy).