Invoice for stores consumed on the Amazone, signed by La Pérouse, and portraits of La Pérouse, 1779-1828

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Lapérouse, Jean Francois de Galaup, comte de, 1741-1788
Title
Invoice for stores consumed on the Amazone, signed by La Pérouse, and portraits of La Pérouse
Dates
1779-1828
Quantity
0.21 cubic feet (1 box)
Collection Number
5586 (Accession No. 5586-001)
Summary
Invoice for stores consumed on the Amazone, signed by La Pérouse, and portraits of La Pérouse
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English, French

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

French naval officer and explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse was born on August 22, 1741 in Albi, France. He began his career with the French navy as a teenager and continued to rise through the ranks before he was promoted to captain in 1780. He fought in many campaigns against the British, including the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution. During the American Revolution, he commanded a campaign against British settlements along the Hudson Bay. He also was placed in command of the Amazone , a 26-gun frigate. The Amazone captured twelve British ships in 1778 alone. In 1779, La Pérouse and the Amazone engaged with British forces off the island of Grenada and the coast of Savannah, Georgia.

After the American Revolution, La Pérouse began an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean. In addition to sailing through the ocean’s tropical waters, in 1786 La Pérouse and his crew on La Boussole , accompanied by the Astrolabe , reached the southern coast of Alaska and continued to sail south to California’s Monterey Bay. From there, La Boussole reached Macau in South China on January 3, 1787 and explored the Asian Pacific coast. At the end of that year, while sailing through the Navigator Islands, a party from the Astrolabe was attacked and killed. La Pérouse continued to explore the area before departing from eastern Australia on March 10, 1788. He and his crew were never heard from again.

In 1828, French explorer Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d’Urville found wreckage of La Boussole on Vanikoro, one of the Santa Cruz (now Solomon) Islands. According to residents of Vanikoro, about thirty men from the ship had been murdered onshore, although some had managed to escape.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Inventory of stores consumed on the Amazone , fourteen portraits of La Pérouse, and print "Vanikoro."

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Provenance of this collection is unknown, but may have been compiled by the noted La Pérouse collector, Edward Weber Allen.

Processing Note

Processed by J. MacDowell; processing completed in 2015

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 5586-001: Laperouse Invoice for stores consumed on the Amazone, signed by Lapérouse, and portraits of Lapérouse, 1779-1828Return to Top

0.21 cubic feet (1 box)

Scope and Content: Original inventory, in French, of stores consumed on theAmazonebetween January 1 and February 15, 1779, submitted by Goyon de Mallévre and signed by the ship’s master, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse. Also included is an English translation of the inventory, fourteen portraits of La Pérouse (most of which appear to be plates removed from books), and a print entitled “Vanikoro,” which depicts naval officer Jules Dumont d’Urville dedicating a monument to La Pérouse before his own crew and natives of the island.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington.

Acquisition Info: Provenance of this collection is unknown, but may have been compiled by the noted La Pérouse collector, Edward Weber Allen.

Processing Info: Processed by J. MacDowell in 2015.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder Accession
1/1 5586-001
Inventory of stores consumed on the Amazone
1779
1/2 5586-001
Portraits of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
undated
1/3 5586-001
"Vanikoro" print
1828

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Lapérouse, Jean Francoise Galaup, comte de, 1741-1788--Archives