Beschreibung:

WILKES, Charles (1798-1877). Two autograph letters signed, (“Charles Wilkes”), to J.K. Tefft and Captain F.D. Strand, 1851-1868; with three letters relating to members of the Wilkes Expedition, 1833-1838, and a lithograph portrait of Wilkes. 5 pages, approx. 243 x 195mm (occasional minor soiling); one letter and the lithograph portrait are mounted in scrapbook leaves. Provenance : Ten Pound Island Book Co. A collection of correspondence by or relating to Wilkes and the 1838-1842 United States Exploring Expedition which he commanded . The two letters from Wilkes regard various aspects of his published account, Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 (1844) – his letter of 14 April 1851 presents a copy of his introduction to J.K. Tefft, Esq., at the Georgia Historical Society and his second, dated 2 January 1868, authorizes Captain D.F. Strand to dispose of the publisher’s plates in Philadelphia. The other letters are either written by members of the expedition or concern the expedition in some regard. The earliest, dated 1833, is from Dr. Charles Pickering, who would later serve as Naturalist under Wilkes. He writes to recommend Dr. H. McMurtrie as a lecturer in Zoology. The second letter, dated 1838, is from W.B. McMurtrie, who would serve as an assistant Zoological Draughtsman under Wilkes, and includes a list of 16 items for use during the expedition. The third letter, 1838, is addressed to Wilkes and is regarding “Young Stebbins,” whom the writer, Ogden Hoffman, recommends for the expedition.