A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands; With Remarks Upon the Natural History of the Islands, Origin, Languages, Traditions, and Usages of the Inhabitants. [Association Rev. George Cheyne]

London: J. Snow. Good with no dust jacket. 1837. First Edition. Hardcover. X, 589, ad. Folding map. Color frontis, engraved vignette on title, all plates and engravings present as called, some plates still have the tissue guard. 1st edition, second thousand. With a very interest Canadian/English provenance: the first free endpaper has a gift inscripted "Presented by Col. Forlong of 43rd Regiment to his much esteemed friend Rev. G. Cheyne. Amherstburg." The 43rd was in Canada and "went to New Brunswick in 1835, and was one of the regiments dispatched from New Brunswick to Quebec, on horse-sleighs, in the depth of the winter of 1838-39, on the occasion of the insurrection in Lower Canada. The regiment was employed in Canada until 1844, when it removed to Nova Scotia, and came home in 1846." Col. Forlong is documented with the 43rd. George Cheyne, a Scots, was the first Presbyterian minister west of London and was called in Amherstburg c1831-1834. A church in Amherstburg, Ontario is named for him. Rebound in dark green library buckram with gilt to the spine, just a faint hint of a library spine label, some faint library marks to front cover, end papers renewed, verso of title has library marks, last page of ads has some library numbers, otherwise clean and unmarked, text pages are clean but a bit toned, plates and folding map are clean and bright. A very handsome copy with an interesting provenance. "In 1817, John Williams and his wife, Mary Chawner, voyaged to the Society Islands, a group of islands that included Tahiti, accompanied by William Ellis and his wife. John and Mary established their first missionary post on the island of Raiatea. From there, they visited a number of the Polynesian island chains, sometimes with Mr & Mrs Ellis and other London Missionary Society representatives. Landing on Aitutaki in 1821, they used Tahitian converts to carry their message to the Cook islanders. One island in this group, Rarotonga (discovered by Captain John Dibbs of the colonial schooner Endeavor in August 1823, with Rev. Williams on board) , rises out of the sea as jungle-covered mountains of orange soil ringed by coral reef and turquoise lagoon; Williams became fascinated by it. John and Mary had ten children, but only three survived to adulthood. The Williamses became the first missionary family to visit Samoa. They returned to England in 1834." ; Ex-Library; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 589 pages .