Found on Frontispiece, Illustrated Title Page and two other Steel Engravings

 
Condition. The book is in Very Good condition. There is very little foxing or toning and the pages are basically clean and bright. The cover has several white specks on the front and a trace of one on the spine. The head and tail of spine have some slight worn/torn spots. There is a 1 inch bruise/crush spot on the edge of the back cover. The frontispiece, illustrated title page and two other steel engraved plates have water stain marks along the top extending down as much as 1 1/2 in. The water stains are not event on text pages or the woodcut plates.

 
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For General Information on this Habersham book, click here.
For Information on other books from this era about Japan, click here.

Habersham, A. W.:
My Last Cruise. Where We Went And What We Saw: Being An Account Of Visits To The Malay And Loo-Choo Islands, The Coasts Of China, Formosa, Japan, Kamtschatka, Siberia, And The Mouth Of The Amoor River, Interspersed with Amusing Incidents and Exciting Adventures, J. B. Lippincott & Co. Philadelphia, 1878 (c1857), 8vo (6 x 9 in), 507 pp., two types of covers - red (green) and black decorated front cover and spine with gold title area on spine, frontispiece (steel engraving), illustrated title page (steel engraving), 29 black and white plates (frontispiece is included in this total) - steel engravings (3) and woodcuts (26). The plate of the Japan bath house (bathing) scene is often referred to as one of the key plates in the book. This narrative recounts the journey of the United States Exploring Expedition to the North Pacific and China Seas, 1853-1856, under Cadwallader Ringwald. It includes sections on the visits to Malay, the Loo-Choo Islands, the Coasts of China and Formosa, Japan, Kamtschatka, Siberia, and the mouth of the Amoor River. Habersham was a Lieutenant in the surveying party and served aboard the John P Kennedy. The expedition, under the command of Commander Cadwalader Ringgold, sailed in June of 1853 for the Orient via the Cape of Good Hope and Batavia. The Vincennes served as flag-ship to the four other expedition vessels (screw-steamer John Hancock, the brig-of-war Porpoise, the schooner J. Fenimore Cooper and the store-ship John P. Kennedy). While the narrative overlaps the time the Perry Expedition was in Japan, the Ringwald Expedition arrived in Okinawa and Japan after Perry had completed his mission. The narrative provides an interesting account of events immediately in the wake of the Perry Expedition. The section on Ryukyu Islands starts in April of 1855 and spans 15 pages. The ships returned from Japan via San Francisco and Cape Horn and arrived at New York Navy Yard in the summer of 1856.

Two Different Covers. I have recorded two different covers for this edition. The first I call Type I. The cover (red) has the title on the front cover. The second type (green) has a picture of a ship on the front and no title. On the spine of Type II there is an illustration of a man and a bear.

The book listed below is the biography of John M. Brooke. Brooke served aboard the Fennimore Cooper on this exploring expedition and that is covered in the book.

Brooke, Jr., George M.:
John M. Brooke, Naval Scientist and Educator, Charlottesville, University of Press of Virginia, 1980, 8vo, navy blue cloth, dust jacket, 2 maps, 33 black and white illustrations, 372 pages. This detailed and well documented biography chronicles John Mercer Brooke's (1826-1906) long and illustrious career as a Naval officer, scientist and inventor. For more information on this book, click here.