first edition
1835 · London
by ROSS, John (1777-1856).
London: A. W. Webster, 1835. First edition. Very Good. Volume 1 only (of two). 33 cm; [8], xxiv, 740 [i.e., 742] pages, folding engraved map, hand-colored in outline, 5 engraved charts, 16 copper-engraved plates in black and white, 6 hand-colored lithographs, and 3 color-printed mezzotint plates of the polar night. Bound in original cloth and rebacked in 20th-century buckram with leather title-label laid down. Some ink migration of text through the paper, showing through behind plates. References: Arctic Bibliography 14866; Lande 1426; Sabin 73381.
One of the fundamental volumes in the literature of polar exploration. Ross's second voyage is more significant from a historical perspective than his more famous first voyage. He pioneered the use of a shallow-draft paddle-wheel steamer that featured experimental technology, but which was largely unsuccessful. He charted fresh polar territory at Boothia that he named for his financial patron, Felix Booth. During a winter layover, Ross's nephew James Clark Ross became the first European to chart the North Magnetic Pole. The book is a sumptuous production, featuring vivid mezzotint plates showing scenes of the polar night. (Inventory #: 5910)
One of the fundamental volumes in the literature of polar exploration. Ross's second voyage is more significant from a historical perspective than his more famous first voyage. He pioneered the use of a shallow-draft paddle-wheel steamer that featured experimental technology, but which was largely unsuccessful. He charted fresh polar territory at Boothia that he named for his financial patron, Felix Booth. During a winter layover, Ross's nephew James Clark Ross became the first European to chart the North Magnetic Pole. The book is a sumptuous production, featuring vivid mezzotint plates showing scenes of the polar night. (Inventory #: 5910)