Book at auction August 23, 2014

[Jeffrey Pearce]

There will be a book auctioned off August 23 that was published in 1852 and is about the western Pacific islands north and south of the equator. This is really all I know about the book. The link is below.

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/cheyne,-andrew.-a-description-of-islands-in-the-112-c-d9715ed5b8

[JNev]

That's an interesting find, Jeffrey P.  Thanks for sharing it.

Think of what a sailing frontier that still was at that time.

[Matt Revington]

The online version of that book can be found here
https://archive.org/details/adescriptionisl01cheygoog

There is no Gardner Island listed or any of the previous names of niku that are listed on the wiki page, but the author does give the latitude and longitude of the islands, I haven't had a chance to check them to see if any match with Niku.

[Jeffrey Pearce]

What a post, Matt! Fantastic! I hope I can use this site in the future.

Jeff P.

[Matt Revington]

Through the same site I found a book called "on the phosphatic guano islands of the Pacific Islands of the ocean" (1862).
https://archive.org/details/onphosphaticguan00hagu

The author spent time on Howland, Baker and Jarvis island and reports on the islands in some detail.  In a list of local islands he has heard of but not visited he has Kemins and Mary letitia islands, both previous names for Niku.

[JNev]

Through the same site I found a book called "on the phosphatic guano islands of the Pacific Islands of the ocean" (1862).
https://archive.org/details/onphosphaticguan00hagu

The author spent time on Howland, Baker and Jarvis island and reports on the islands in some detail.  In a list of local islands he has heard of but not visited he has Kemins and Mary letitia islands, both previous names for Niku.

You two gents have illuminated something that is important here to me - a better understanding of the greater environment in which one of the greatest aviation mysteries played itself out.  I want to read these things when I can.

The stories you are sharing help to create a realistic backdrop of how vast and remote the Pacific area can be; the thought of a tiny (in relative terms) 1930's era cabin class twin droning across that toward a tiny island is dramatic in of itself: this was a region that had and could swallow many things without a trace.

Thanks for sharing this.

[Jeffrey Pearce]

Through the same site I found a book called "on the phosphatic guano islands of the Pacific Islands of the ocean" (1862).
https://archive.org/details/onphosphaticguan00hagu

The author spent time on Howland, Baker and Jarvis island and reports on the islands in some detail.  In a list of local islands he has heard of but not visited he has Kemins and Mary letitia islands, both previous names for Niku.

I am interested in going through this information primarily for the bird life on the islands. This is very good, indeed! Really good.

Jeff P.

[Jeffrey Pearce]

Through the same site I found a book called "on the phosphatic guano islands of the Pacific Islands of the ocean" (1862).
https://archive.org/details/onphosphaticguan00hagu

The author spent time on Howland, Baker and Jarvis island and reports on the islands in some detail.  In a list of local islands he has heard of but not visited he has Kemins and Mary letitia islands, both previous names for Niku.

You two gents have illuminated something that is important here to me - a better understanding of the greater environment in which one of the greatest aviation mysteries played itself out.  I want to read these things when I can.

The stories you are sharing help to create a realistic backdrop of how vast and remote the Pacific area can be; the thought of a tiny (in relative terms) 1930's era cabin class twin droning across that toward a tiny island is dramatic in of itself: this was a region that had and could swallow many things without a trace.

Thanks for sharing this.

Yes, Jeffrey. The aquamarine water and all the rest of it. I sense your words.

Jeff