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THREE YEARS OF ARCTIC SERVICE. An Account of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-84 and the Attainment of the Farthest North.

THREE YEARS OF ARCTIC SERVICE. An Account of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-84 and the Attainment of the Farthest North.

GREELY, Adolphus W. First edition, first printing. Two volumes. Publisher's original blue cloth with titles and illustration in red, silver and gilt to the upper boards and spine. Illustrated with a steel engraved frontispiece portrait in volume I, 42 full page plates (many from photographs), numerous illustrations and five maps in text from drawings, four further maps (two double page, two folding, including a large coloured map in a rear pocket of volume II, as issued). Grey coated endpapers. A very good set, the bindings square and firm with some bumping and small nicks to the spine tips. The cloth and gilt remains bright and fresh. The contents, with spotting to the prelims and occasionally to the margins are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. The large folding map in the pocket at the rear of volume II, has a couple of short closed tears to the blank margin and is otherwise sound. An attractive example. "This United States expedition during the First International Polar Year, based at Fort Conger, Lady Franklin Bay on the east coast of Ellesmere Island, explored the north coast of Greenland from Cape Bryant to Cape Washington. As relief ships failed to reach them, members the party made a march out of the Hall Basin area, all but seven dying of starvation before rescue at Cape Sabine, Smith Sound" - Artic Bibliography. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.
  • $579
book (2)

THE POETICAL WORKS OF PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

First collected edition. Four volumes. Contemporary full calf by Joseph Zaehnsdorf with five raised bands, gilt decorated compartments and gilt titles on morocco labels on the spines, double ruled gilt borders to the boards and gilt inner dentelles. Top edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. Engraved portrait frontispiece to volume one. A very good set, the bindings square and firm, the spines darkened resulting in dulling of the gilt, with some rubbing and flaking to the extremities. The upper corners of volumes I and IV a little worn. The contents, with toning to the text block edges are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owners' stamps or inscriptions. The first complete edition of Percy Shelley's poetical works, complied and edited by his wife Mary Shelley. Previously, Shelley's poetry had largely been brought before the public in a multiplicity of either private and small-run editions (many of which had become increasingly scarce) or pirated editions. Percy's father, Sir Timothy Shelley, feared that a new collected edition would be likely to draw fresh attention to the radical writings of his son. Recognising, however, that obscurity was unlikely in any case, he relented and dropped his objections to Mary producing an official edition. After having attempted to do so since her husband's death in 1822, Mary thus brought Percy's work into the mainstream. Her notes, which added significantly to the fuller comprehension of Percy's poetic writings, have since become inseparable from the texts themselves and her endeavours ultimately served to secure his position as one of the foremost poets of the English language. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.