This 1838 first edition of A Voyage Round the World offers a remarkable window into early American naval exploration and global diplomacy. Written by W. S. W. Ruschenberger, surgeon in the United States Navy, the book chronicles his circumnavigation of 1835 to 1837, describing encounters with the courts of Muscat and Siam, the trading world of Zanzibar, and the wider geography of the Pacific including Hawaii, California, and Ceylon.
Printed in Philadelphia by Carey, Lea and Blanchard, it stands as one of the most substantial American travel accounts of the period.
A circumnavigation recorded in detail
Ruschenberger’s narrative combines travel description with diplomacy, commerce, and ethnographic observation. His chapters include shipping statistics, trade reports, and descriptions of naval operations, as well as keenly observed portraits of political leaders and local societies. The book represents the growing global reach of the United States in the decades before the Civil War, and it remains a core source for nineteenth century American exploration.
Provenance linked to the East India Company
This copy carries a particularly compelling association. A contemporary inscription connects the volume to Captain Atkins Hamerton of the 23rd Regiment Bombay Infantry and the East India Company.
Hamerton was appointed British Consul and Resident at Zanzibar in 1841 and played a central role in the early British campaign against the East African slave trade. The handwritten note, dated Zanzibar January 1844, ties the book directly to the political world Ruschenberger describes and to one of the most influential colonial figures active in the region at the time.
Such provenance significantly elevates this copy, turning it into a layered historical artifact rather than simply a travel narrative.
Condition
The book remains in its original contemporary leather binding, visibly worn with losses and heavy rubbing to the spine. Boards are scuffed, corners bumped, and the exterior shows the long life one expects from a volume that travelled. Internally, the text is largely clean with expected toning and patches of foxing. The inscription and marginalia are clear and legible, adding documentary richness to the copy.
Significance
This edition is notable for several converging reasons:
• a first edition of an important American circumnavigation narrative
• early descriptive accounts of Muscat, Zanzibar, and Siam
• direct provenance to Captain Atkins Hamerton, a central figure in British diplomacy and anti-slavery efforts in East Africa
• marginalia that situate the book within the lived history of the Indian Ocean world
For collectors of travel literature, naval history, East India Company material, or American exploration, this is an exceptional example that unites textual rarity with tangible historical presence.
This 1838 first edition of A Voyage Round the World offers a remarkable window into early American naval exploration and global diplomacy. Written by W. S. W. Ruschenberger, surgeon in the United States Navy, the book chronicles his circumnavigation of 1835 to 1837, describing encounters with the courts of Muscat and Siam, the trading world of Zanzibar, and the wider geography of the Pacific including Hawaii, California, and Ceylon.
Printed in Philadelphia by Carey, Lea and Blanchard, it stands as one of the most substantial American travel accounts of the period.
A circumnavigation recorded in detail
Ruschenberger’s narrative combines travel description with diplomacy, commerce, and ethnographic observation. His chapters include shipping statistics, trade reports, and descriptions of naval operations, as well as keenly observed portraits of political leaders and local societies. The book represents the growing global reach of the United States in the decades before the Civil War, and it remains a core source for nineteenth century American exploration.
Provenance linked to the East India Company
This copy carries a particularly compelling association. A contemporary inscription connects the volume to Captain Atkins Hamerton of the 23rd Regiment Bombay Infantry and the East India Company.
Hamerton was appointed British Consul and Resident at Zanzibar in 1841 and played a central role in the early British campaign against the East African slave trade. The handwritten note, dated Zanzibar January 1844, ties the book directly to the political world Ruschenberger describes and to one of the most influential colonial figures active in the region at the time.
Such provenance significantly elevates this copy, turning it into a layered historical artifact rather than simply a travel narrative.
Condition
The book remains in its original contemporary leather binding, visibly worn with losses and heavy rubbing to the spine. Boards are scuffed, corners bumped, and the exterior shows the long life one expects from a volume that travelled. Internally, the text is largely clean with expected toning and patches of foxing. The inscription and marginalia are clear and legible, adding documentary richness to the copy.
Significance
This edition is notable for several converging reasons:
• a first edition of an important American circumnavigation narrative
• early descriptive accounts of Muscat, Zanzibar, and Siam
• direct provenance to Captain Atkins Hamerton, a central figure in British diplomacy and anti-slavery efforts in East Africa
• marginalia that situate the book within the lived history of the Indian Ocean world
For collectors of travel literature, naval history, East India Company material, or American exploration, this is an exceptional example that unites textual rarity with tangible historical presence.
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