Varias publicaciones contra la prórroga del privilejio, que otorga el monopolio de la navegacion a vapor en el Pacifico, en favor de la Compañía de Lóndres.

Santiago de Chile, Imprenta del Progreso, 1850.. FIRST EDITION in this form?. Large 8°, traces of early wrappers. Small woodcut vignette on title page of a paddlewheel steamboat. Very good condition. Early manuscript foliation in ink. (1 l.), ii, 131 pp. (including a second quire signed 6). *** FIRST EDITION in this form? In 1835, Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador granted William Wheelwright a ten-year privilege to run steamboat service from Valparaiso to Panama. With funding from London, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company sent its first two steamers into operation in 1840. Unfortunately the PSNC began to show a profit only in 1848, the year the California Gold Rush began. Before its monopoly could be renewed, half a dozen Chilean companies were formed to take advantage of the enormous demand for transportation. This collection of letters on the steamship monopoly offers extensive quotations from contemporary periodicals, that include many comments on Wheelwright, the United States, and ships trading in the Americas. (California seems to be mentioned only on p. 27.) The latest document dates to December 3, 1850.Wheelwright (Newburyport, Mass., 1798-London, 1873) was a successful entrepreneur in steamships, railroads, and telegraphs. He is remembered for initiating major public works projects in South America: a modern fire company, gas lighting, and improvements in lighthouses and buoys, among others.*** Briseño I, 337: calling for only 131 pp. Not located in CCPBE. Not located in Rebiun. Jisc locates copies at the British Library and Oxford University.