Manuscripts
Merchant ship Beaver captain letters to his wife
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Captain's log for the H.M.S. Blonde's voyage to the Sandwich Islands
Manuscripts
The volume is Byron's handwritten daily account of the H.M.S. Blonde's voyage from England to Hawaii and from Hawaii back to Valparaíso, Chile (June 10, 1824 to November 19, 1825). Byron records longitude and latitude, distance traveled, weather conditions, bearings, and barometer/thermometer readings. Along with those details, Byron records the daily activities and repairs on the ship, the punishments of sailors for various grievances, trading of supplies with other ships, and ports visited including Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn, and Valparáiso. Byron also notes activities after the ship's arrival in Hawaii including the bodies of the Hawaiian royals taken ashore, his visits from King Kamehameha III and Queen Kaahumanu, the completion of the first monument for Captain James Cook, and the discovery of Malden Island.
mssHM 64596
Alejandro Malaspina letter to the Conde de Revillagigedo, viceroy of New Spain, 1790, June 12
Manuscripts
In this letter to the viceroy of New Spain, Juan Vicente Güémez Pacheco de Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, Conde de Revillagigedo, Alejandro Malaspina details the route of his voyage to that point, its scientific and mapping work, and future plans. Specific subjects in the letter include: José Bustamante y Guerra; Francisco Gil de Taboada; the route of the voyage to the port of Callao, Peru; approaches to navigating Cape Horn; places for obtaining ship's rigging; major ports in Spanish Colonial America; scientific and astronomical work done at Santiago, Chile; and the hostility of the Conde de Revillagigedo to the Russians. Malaspina also states that he will not be making a visit to Mexico City.
mssHM 83437
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H.M.S. Blonde (ship) : Correspondence and Reports : Commodore Francis Mason, Graham E. Hamond
Manuscripts
(25 pieces). Locations: Callao & Chorrillos, Peru ; Coquimbo & Valparaiso, Chile. Includes a letter dated Nov. 24, 1835. Includes a few letters marked "Duplicate" and "Copy."
mssHamond
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Log book and shipboard journal and watch, quarter and station bill of the USS Franklin
Manuscripts
The log book and shipboard journal, kept by First Lieutenant William M. Hunter on board the USS Franklin, begins on August 15, 1821 while the ship was in New York harbor waiting to set sail and ends August 26, 1824, shortly before the ship's return to New York. The log book includes all the usual information including daily entries listing the course of the ship, the ship's position, weather conditions, water remains, sick reports, and interactions with other ships. Hunter also comments often on the schooner Dolphin and its captain, David Conner, as it was accompanying the Franklin on its journey. It also includes several lengthy entries by Hunter detailing ports of call such as: Arica and Valparaíso, Chile; Callao, Peru; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Juan Fernández Islands. In these entries he talks about the activities of the crew, meeting local dignitaries, and even mentions Captain Stewart's wife Delia who was also on the voyage. Hunter also comments upon various aspects of the wars of independence against Spain including ships of the Chilean Navy returning from an engagement with Royalists and an attack on Arica, an "undefended town," by a Peruvian ship. The log book also includes 11 sketches by Hunter of various cities and places in South America and a larger chart of Cumberland Bay, also by Hunter, which is folded up and in the log book. The Watch, Quarter and Station bill for the USS Franklin is dated May 1824.
mssHM 70856-70857
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Sea journal of Captain Moses J. Mulliken
Manuscripts
This sea journal records the travels of Captain Moses J. Mulliken in New England, to California, and to Singapore. The journal begins with tracking local voyages to and from Boston, New York, Wilmington (South Carolina), Newburyport (Massachusetts), Bath (Maine), Havana, and Charleston (South Carolina). Most of these records revolve around bookkeeping for costs and tracking of cargo (mainly box shooks and lumber). The majority of the journal itself consists of more detailed accounts of several long voyages, including those from Boston to San Francisco on board the "Mary Wilder" from January to August 1849 (with stops on Quiriquina Island and in Conception, Chile); from Boston to Sacramento City on board the "Rachel Stevens" (out of Pitston, Maine) from March to August 1850; from New York to San Francisco on board the "Mary and Jane" from May to December 1852 (including a stop in Valparasio, Chile); and a journey from San Francisco to Singapore via the North Pacific and from Penang back to New York from February to November 1853, also on board the "Mary and Jane." While many of Mulliken's entries focus on recording the ship's headings and weather conditions, there are also a number of personal passages. Most of these revolve around Mulliken's perceived failings as a ship's captain and reflections on his life's regrets and hopes to do his "duty to God." Also included in the journal is a newspaper clipping with a poem written "upon arriving at the Island of San Fernandes, May 4, 1849;" a copy of shipping instructions from Daniel Deshon to Mulliken, dated November 5, 1847; a description of a rule for finding time by the setting sun; and several sketches of ports, including an annotated sketch of San Francisco towards Humbolt Bay.
mssHM 72342
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H.M.S. Blonde (ship) : Correspondence and Reports : Commodore Francis Mason, Graham E. Hamond, Gordon Gallie Macdonald, Robert Beecroft
Manuscripts
(3 pieces). Locations: Callao, Peru ; Valparaiso, Chile. Inclusive dates of letters Nov. 10-Nov. 28, 1835; also original pink and green ribbon ties.
mssHamond