A Voyage to the North Pacific - photo 1

A Voyage to the North Pacific

Starting price
$ 100
Auction dateClassic
14.09.2022 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 797273
Lot 634 | A Voyage to the North Pacific
D’WOLF, Captain John (1779-1872). A Voyage to the North Pacific. Cambridge: Welch, Bigelow, and Company, 1861.

First edition, a presentation copy, of the voyage of Herman Melville's uncle. The Streeter copy. Inscribed on the title page: “To the Dorchester Antiquarian Society with the regards of John D’Wolf.” D’Wolf had only 100 copies printed of this work. It documents his voyage to Sitka and the subsequent journey to accompany Governor Alexander Baranov across Siberia back to St. Petersburg. D'Wolf, known as the adventurous "Nor'west John," was the husband of Melville's paternal aunt Mary (1778-1859). Melville would use D'Wolf's experiences as inspiration, writing in Chapter 45 of Moby-Dick that his uncle, "who, after a long life of unusual adventures as a sea captain, this day resides in the village of Dorchester near Boston." He quotes from the seventeenth chapter of Langsdorff's Voyages and Travels in Various Parts of the World (1813-14), which describes a ship commanded by D'Wolf. On its way to Okhotsk, on the northwest Pacific Coast near Russia, it encountered a "gigantic creature" that "raised the ship three feet at least out of the water. The masts reeled, and the sails fell altogether, while we who were below all sprang instantly upon the deck, concluding that we had struck upon some rock; instead we saw the monster sailing off with the utmost gravity and solemnity." Sabin 19883; Wickersham 6666.

Octavo (215 x 140mm). Printed wrappers (repair to upper edge of front wrapper, front joint splitting but holding, pen annotation ‘Box 16’ to upper cover). Provenance: Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society (authorial inscription and bookplate) – Goodspeed’s Book Shop, 1965 – Thomas Winthrop Streeter (bookplate; his sale, Parke-Bernet, 22 April 1969, lot 3526).
Place of origin:United Kingdom
Category:Printed book
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
01.09.2022 – 14.09.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.