Inscribed by the Translator. This book is in excellent unused or very gently-used condition. There are no attached bookplates or embossed seals. Please see the photographs for best description. Please review all photos carefully before purchasing, and feel free to ask questions if the photos do not suffice. We can provide additional photos if requested. While French sea captain Auguste Duhaut-Cilly may not have become wealthy from his around-the-world travels between 1826 and 1829, his trip has enriched historians interested in early nineteenth-century California. Because of a poor choice in goods to trade he found it necessary to spend nearly two years on the Alta and Baja California coasts before disposing of his cargo and returning to France. What was bad luck for Duhaut-Cilly was good luck for us, however, because he recorded his impressions of the region’s natural history and human populations in a diary. This translation of Duhaut-Cilly’s writing offers today’s readers a rare eyewitness account of the pastoral society that was Mexican California, including the missions at the height of their power. A veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Duhaut-Cilly was an educated man conversant in Spanish and English. He was also Catholic, which gave him special access to the California missions. Thus his diary allows the reader an insider’s view of the padres’ lives, including their dealings with the military. Through his eyes we see the region’s indigenous people and how they were treated, and we’re privy to his commentary on the behavior of the Californios. This translation also contains Duhaut-Cilly’s account of the Sandwich Islands portion of his voyage and provides an authentic rendering of life at sea during the early nineteenth century. In the spirit of Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years before the Mast, Duhaut-Cilly’s reflections are a historical gem for anyone with a love of personal narratives and original accounts of the past. This item is in the category “Books & Magazines\Antiquarian & Collectible”. The seller is “settembrinis_selections” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Binding: Cloth
- Place of Publication: San Francisco
- Language: English
- Special Attributes: Limited Edition, Inscribed, Illustrated, Numbered
- Author: Auguste Duhaut-Cilly
- Publisher: The Book Club Of California
- Topic: World
- Subject: Exploration & Travel
- Original/Facsimile: Original
- Year Printed: 1997