A Voyage Round the World; including an Embassy to Muscat and Siam in 1835, 1836, and 1837 W. S. W. Ruschenberger

Rare first edition of Ruschenberger's A Voyage Round the World (Philadelphia, 1838), documenting the U.S. naval circumnavigation and embassy to Muscat and Siam in 1835-1837. A seminal early American travel account including extensive trade tables, shipping records, and detailed observations from Zanzibar, Ceylon, Hawaii, California, and beyond. This copy bears an extraordinary East India Company provenance: the front flyleaf inscription reads, "Presented to Lieut. J. Marshall by Capt. Atkins Hamerton of the 23rd Regt. Bombay Infantry & H.M. Consul & E.I.C. Political Resident at Zanzibar Jan 23rd 1844." Captain Atkins Hamerton (c. 1801-1857) served as Britain's first Consul in Zanzibar from 1841, negotiating with the Sultan of Oman and playing a central role in Britain's campaign against the East African slave trade. Original contemporary full leather binding, worn and scuffed with significant loss at spine ends and joints starting; boards rubbed, corners bumped. Text block sound and largely clean with moderate toning and occasional foxing. A presentation copy of major historical and geopolitical interest, linking American naval exploration with early British colonial diplomacy in East Africa. A unique collector's copy combining American exploration, Indian Ocean trade, and direct East India Company provenance.