Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, Performed in the Years 1852, 1853, and 1854, Under the Command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy, by Order of the Government of the United States. [Including] Observations on the Zodiacal Light.

First edition, mixed Senate & House issue of this landmark narrative chronicling Perry’s American expedition to Japan meant to promote diplomacy and international commerce. Quarto, original publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine, illustrated with approximately 114 full-page tinted lithographs (those on natural history hand-colored) and 17 folding charts and maps, the first volume without the generally suppressed nude bathing plate. Vol. I is a presentation copy, inscribed to a Miss C. O. Miller from Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic Senator from Illinois, dated August 11, 1856. Stephen A. Douglas (1813–1861), a Democratic senator from Illinois, was a central figure in antebellum American politics, known for his pivotal role in shaping the nation's approach to territorial expansion and slavery. His advocacy for "popular sovereignty," which allowed settlers in new territories to decide whether to permit slavery, was a defining feature of his political career and the cornerstone of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This controversial legislation intensified sectional tensions by effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise, leading to violent conflict in Kansas and deepening the national divide over slavery. A skilled orator and debater, Douglas famously faced Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Senate race of 1858, engaging in a series of debates that highlighted their conflicting views on slavery and democracy. Though he prioritized preserving the Union, Douglas's policies and compromises often fueled the discord they sought to alleviate, marking him as both a pragmatic legislator and a polarizing figure in the nation’s fraught march toward civil war. In very good condition. A very nice example with noted provenance.