A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Beering's Straits, for the Purpose of Exploring a North-East Passage 3 Volume Set : Undertaken in the Years 1815-1818, at the Expense of His Highness the

An admirer of Captain Cook, Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846) was a leading navigator in Russian service, circumnavigating the globe three times.

His 1815 expedition set out to find a passage through the Arctic, study the coastlines of Kamchatka and Alaska, and explore the Pacific.

Among the personnel were the naturalist Chamisso and the artist Choris, who both contributed valuable information to the published account, while Eschscholtz, a physician, collected zoological specimens. Originally published in 1821 in Russian and German, this English translation, presented with many plates and charts, appeared the same year and formed part of Darwin's library aboard the Beagle.

The volumes detail the expedition's inception and present the journal of the voyage, with coverage of such locations as Cape Horn, Polynesia, Siberia, Alaska, California and Hawaii.

They also contain contributions by the other members of the expedition, notably Chamisso's detailed scientific observations.