Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent During the Years 1799-1804 ... With Maps, Plans &c

London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster Row, W. Pope, Printer, 67 Chancery Lane, 1819-1822. Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo. 8 books in 5 volumes, of what I believe should be a 7 volume set. Vol. 1: Stated 3rd edition, 1822. Contains Books I & II, pp. xii, li, 293, [1] - 294. Frontispiece map, tables; Vol. 2: Stated 2nd edition, 1822. Title-page reads Vol. III. Contains Books III & IV, pp. [iv], 575 (continuous pagination), tables, 5 engraved folding maps at rear; Vol. 3: No edition statement, 1819. Title-page reads Vol. IV. Contains Books V, VI, and first chapter of VII, pp. [iv], 573, [2] - publ. adverts. (continuous pagination), ; Vol. 4: No edition statement, 1821. Title-page reads Vol. V. Contains continuation of Book VII, and first chapter of Book VIII, (chapter 23). Chapter 24, although listed in the Contents, was given a separate volume (see Vol. 5 below), and the first page was laminated to the last page, hiding the error, pp. [iii], 501; Vol. 5: No edition statement, 1821. Possible first edition of this volume as author's note is dated, "Paris, March, 1821." Title-page reads Vol. V-Part II. Contains chapter 24 complete with the first page, pp. [iii], 502-865, errata, 3 - (Author's Note). Original brown leather boards, sympathetically rebacked some time ago, flat-backed with double gilt-stamped, black leather spine labels, gilt-stamped rules to the spine with gilt decorations in the compartments, corners consolidated. Engraved bookplate of John & Edith Burroughs in each volume with inserted tissue guard, black ink stamp at head of first text page in each volume, of possibly a llama with the initials J.B. beneath, light foxing to first and last, and occasionally throughout. Overall, a very good copy of a rare set. Charles Darwin read Alexander von Humboldt's (1769-1859) account of his travels to the 'New World' which inspired him to plan his own expedition to see sights such as the dragon tree of the Canary Islands. From Darwin's autobiography, he 'copied out from Humboldt long passages about Tenerife, and read them aloud'. "Humboldt and Bonpland studied the meteorological phenomena, physical geography, and the ancient and modern cultures of the regions they explored. At Callao, Humboldt measured the temperatures of the ocean current which came to bear his name. He also made investigations into the properties of guano, which ultimately led to its export to Europe. He used scientific instruments for a continuous survey in orography, meteorology and earth magnetism. Bonpland studied plant life in its environmental conditions and collected about 60,000 specimens, among them thousands of new species and genera" (Hill #848].