First edition. 8vo. pp. xiv, 101; coloured frontis., 20 b&w photo. plates, one folding map; previous owner s inscription to title-page, else very good in original boards, expertly restored to spine. Herbert Schröder-Stranz's Expedition to Spitsbergen in 1912 was undertaken in preparation for a proposed crossing of the Northeast Passage by ship. The fifteen-man expedition included Alfred Ritscher - later to lead the Schwabenland expedition to the Antarctic - and Christopher Rave, an artist. Schröder-Stranz set out by sledge with three companions, and tasked those left on the ship with laying depots. The sledge part was not seen again, and when the ship was beached in Sorgfjorden the remaining crew separated, some remaining with the ship, others leaving to seek help. Ritscher reached Adventfjorden alone, from where news of the expedition went out. Two search expeditions, one under Staxrud, the other led by Wegener, attempted to reach the stricken men, the former discovering Rave and another man, Rüdiger; several other expedition members managed to reach Adventfjorden under their own steam, but in total eight men failed to return. The present rare work, an account of the two search expeditions with initial details of Schröder-Stranz's expedition, was edited for publication by A. Miethe.
First edition, in 19 original parts number 1-25 (parts 15-16, 17-18, 19-20, 21-22 and 24-25); pp. 603, ix [title-page, contents]; woodcut illusts. and maps; very good in original printed wrappers, minor chipping to extremities, wrappers to several parts a little age-toned, previous owner s inscription to front of most wrappers, overall a very good set. This is the Norwegian first edition of Nansen's In Northern Mists, his history of early northern exploration. The book appeared in book form, and also in this far scarcer part form. According to an advertisement that appears on the rear to part four of the parts issue of Amundsen's Sydpolen, the publisher offered Nansen's Nord i Taakeheimen in book form for either 20 or 24 Krone; this parts issue was sold at 80 øre per part (i.e. a total of 15 Krone).
First edition. 8vo. pp. xxvi, 385; 9 plates or full-page illusts. inc. frontis., illusts. to text, folding map; minor foxing, else near-fine in the original cloth, gilt. Provenance: With the pencilled ownership inscription of Frederic Gardiner, Alpine Club, with his bookplate, and loosely inserted a small note to him from C. Taylor of St. John s College, Cambridge. Amelia Edwards' book was one of the first thorough descriptions of the Dolomites, an area which, until the 1860s - when Ball's Guide to the Eastern Alps was published - was surprisingly little documented. This copy once belonged to Frederick Gardiner, the Alpine Club member who made a series of successful climbs in the 1870s and 1880s, including the first guideless ascent of the Jungfrau.
Comprising: 1: Album belonging to William K. Horner, Chief Aerographer's Mate who overwintered 1955-6, with over 60 contemporary photographs mostly approx. 5 x 4" but some larger, a large-format photographic portrait of Commander George Dufek inscribed to Horner, two Christmas cards sent from the Antarctic by Horner to his family, and two tin labels taken from one of the historic huts; 2: An envelope of approx. 40 large format official photographs from the 1950s expeditions, each approx. 10 x 8" and captioned to verso; 3. An Information Folder for 1963, containing three booklets (Welcome to Operation Deep Freeze, Introduction to Antarctica, and Aviation in the Antarctic), a leaflet for Air Devron Six, a 2pp. mimeograph, and eight 1960s photographs. From 1955, the United States initiated a series of expeditions to the Antarctic, in preparation for its involvement in the International Geophysical Year 1957/8. Known collectively as Operation Deep Freeze, the first expedition was led by George Dufek in 1955, though the Polar pioneer Richard Byrd had titular command. The sizeable task force for the first season established an operations station at McMurdo Sound, and a further base on the Ross Ice Shelf, Little America V. The location put members of the expedition in relative proximity to the huts built by Scott and Shackleton at Hut Point and Cape Royds. The album offered here, compiled by or for expedition member William Horner, contains images of the first season, and mementoes such as Christmas cards sent home from the Antarctic, and two tin labels almost certainly collected from one of the historic huts - one for Beach's Apricot, the other Griffiths McAlister & Co. (arguably these were taken from Shackleton's hut). This first year of operation also saw the first plane landing at the South Pole. Operation Deep Freeze continued each year - the other items offered here record later seasons from 1956 to 1963 - and to date forms part of the United States ongoing presence on the continent.
First edition. Large 8vo. pp. xiii, 386; port. frontis., plates with photo. illusts., 3 folding maps; very good in original cloth, gilt, a few minor marks. A presentation copy, inscribed on front blank "Til Generalkonsul Chr. B. Lorentzen med takk for elskverdig gjestfrihet fra Fristjof Nansen 2. dec. 1914" [ To Consul General Chr. B. Lorentzen with thanks for gracious hospitality ]. The Norwegian businessman Jonas Lied (1881-1969) attempted to open a trading route to Northern Siberia, in 1913 founding the Siberia Company with this purpose. That year he and Fridtjof Nansen sailed to the area, publishing a joint article of their findings in Britain's Geographical Journal for 1914. Nansen also published this book narrative of the expedition, which was translated into English as Through Siberia, the Land of the Future (1914). Nansen presented this copy to Christian Blom Lorentzen (1863-1936), a businessman, paper merchant, and member of the board of the Siberian Company.
A large folding engraved map, coloured, sectionalised on linen and folding into original boards, cartographer s label to upper board, faded to spine. An excellent map, showing the Americas in toto, the eastern tip of Asia with the Behring Strait, New Zealand and Polynesia, Greenland at the top and the Azores and Cap Verde Islands to the east. The information relating to the Arctic shows Cape Parr, named for Alfred Parr of the British Arctic Expedition under George Nares (1875-6). The South Shetland Islands and Graham Land are shown to the south, as are the Balleny Islands and South Victoria (Victoria Land).
