* [CORDOBA, Antonio de (1740-1811)]. -- [VARGAS y PONCE, José de (1760-1821)]. Relacion del Ultimo viage al estrecho de Magallanes de la fragata de S.M. Santa Marma de la Cabeza en los anos de 1785 y 1786. Extracto de todos los anteriores desde su...

2 volumes bound in one, large 8vo (227 x 164 mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of Magellan, 5 engraved folding maps and 5 folding tables. Mid-19th-century Spanish green half calf, spine gilt (extremities a little worn). Provenance: Colegio Naval Militar (prize label on upper cover, inscribed on verso of title-page).

FIRST EDITION of the official Spanish documentation of the scientific voyage of the frigate St. Maria de la Cabeza to the Straits of Magellan, which set out to gather scientific and hydrographic information. The second half of the Relacion chronicles the historic voyages through the Straits, from Magellan to Drake to Bougainville. The maps are fine examples of rare 18th-century Spanish cartography, and two of the charts provide detailed delineations of the South American tip and Tierra del Fuego. Palau 352514 and 352515; Sabin 16765 (not including the "appendix").