Joint Services Expedition Elephant Island 1970-71.
First edition. Small folio. pp. [v], 30, [46, Annexes]; 96 photographic illusts., 7 maps and plans; very good in the original cloth-backed printed boards, a little bumped to head of spine. Signed by Malcolm Burley to the upper cover. This expedition to Elephant Island was the first to revisit Point Wild since Shackleton had been forced to put in there after abandoning the Endurance in 1916. A few pages of the present report discuss the remains of the Shackleton expedition found, and 20 or so photographs compare the location as it was when recorded by Hurley and others and the site in 1970-71.
More from Meridian Rare Books
A small archive of items relating to Operation Deep Freeze, 1955-63.
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. British Astronomical Association. The Indian Eclipse 1898, Report of the Expeditions organised by the British Astronomical Association to observe the Total Solar Eclipse of 1898, January 22.
First and only edition. 8vo. pp. xii,172; frontis., illusts. from photos.; previous owners bookplates to front pastedown, very good in original buckram, gilt. A record of the 1898 BAA eclipse expedition, the second such expedition following the first in 1896 to Norway. Chapters are devoted to the expedition bases at Talni, Buxar and Jeur (in the east and west of India), observations and photographs of the sun's corona, and details of places visited in India. Populäre Vorlesungen über wissenschaftliche Gegenstände.
First edition. 8vo. pp. [2], v, 636; one folding plate; minor staining to plate and light foxing, inkstamp of the Bibliotheca Collegii Exaeten to title-page and library labels to front pastedown, very good in contemporary quarter calf, somewhat rubbed, scuffed on boards. The German astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846) made the first measurement of a star's distance by parallax (1838) and calculated the existence of the companion star to Sirius (1844). The present work collects his popular scientific lectures, edited after Bessel s death by H. C. Schumacher. Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys: A Midsummer Ramble in the Dolomites.
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. Nord i Taakeheimen. Utforskningen av Jordens Nordlige Strøk i Tidlige Tider.
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). Die Expeditionen zur Rettung von Schröder-Stranz und seinen Begleitern.
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. Western Hemisphere.
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). Fangst og Forskning i Sydishavet.
First edition. 5 vols. (vol. 3 in two vols.) + leaflet loosely inserted. Large 8vo. illusts., folding maps inc. 3 in rear pocket of vol. 3 part 2; very good in original cloth, volumes 1-3 in original d.-w.s, browning to spines and chipping to extrems. of wrappers, slight loss at head of that to vol. 2, some loss to lower spine of wrapper to vol. 3 part 1. Rosove 1: "A fine and comprehensive review of Antarctic exploration". This set comprises the scarce earlier volumes, and the very scarce final volume; loosely inserted also is the 8pp. pamphlet of Aagaard's supplementary notes to the first two volumes (Rosove 1-2.A1). Aagaard's work was severely delayed due to his opposition to the whaling industry; this attracted "the enmity of the whale barons and the press" (Rosove), who succeeded in halting publication. In the event, the second part of volume three did not appear until 1947, the final volume in 1950 - "a labor of love if ever there was one" (Rosove). NB A very heavy set which will require additional postage costs. Gjennem Sibirien.
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. ‘The Cohesion Pressure. A Theory of Solutions.’ Offprint from Ion, a Journal of Electronics, Atomistics, Ionology, Radioactivity and Raumchemistry, Vol. I No. 5, April 1909.
First separate edition. Large thin 8vo. pp. 312-355; good in original printed wrappers, minor wear to extrems. with slight loss to upper outer corner of upper wrapper, a little soiled. A presentation copy from the author, inscribed to upper wrapper and signed "I. Traube". Traube (1860-1943) was a founder of capillary chemistry whose research on liquids advanced knowledge of critical temperature, osmosis, collois and surface tension. He lived and worked in Germany until 1934, when he took a post at the University of Edinburgh. The present article was translated from the German for appearance in Ion, a journal edited by Charles H. Walter that ran for two volumes only, from 1908 -1910. May we be spared to meet on earth. Letters of the Lost Franklin Arctic Expedition.
First edition. 8vo. pp. xx, 481; illusts., sketch map; as new in original cloth, d.-w. Signed by the editors. A collected edition of letters sent from Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition, with contributions from both public and private holdings, and a chapter on letters sent to the expedition but which were not received. ‘Some Unpublished Letters of Sir John Franklin, Sir John Richardson and Others written during the expeditions to North-west Canada for the purpose of exploration, 1819 -22; and 1825-27’ in Annual Report and Transaction No. 17 of the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Toronto, 1919-1920, pp. 12-36.
First edition thus. 8vo. pp. 36, 12; very good in the original card wrappers. Not in the Arctic Bibliography. The present pamphlet contains a transcript of readings from letters in the possession of Mrs. George McVicar. The letters were written to Robert McVicar, chief trader with the Hudson Bay Company at the time of Franklin's land expeditions. Included are letters from Franklin himself, George Back, John Richardson, Peter Warren Dease, and James Keith. 