The Last Voyage of Capt. Sir John Ross, R.N. Knt., | to the Arctic Regions | for the Discovery of a North West Passage | Performed in the years 1829-30-31-32 and 33 | To which is prefixed; An Abridgement of the former Voyages of Captns. Ross, Parry & other celebrated navigators to the northern latitudes, compiled From Authentic Information and Original Documents transmitted by William Light, Purser's steward to the expedition. Illustrated by engravings from drawings taken on the spot

London: John Saunders, 1836. First Edition, 2nd Printing. Very Good. Octavo, [6x9.25"]; ii, 716 pp., dictionary, appendix, 44 pp. [supplement on the position of the North Magnetic Pole], frontispiece of Sir John Ross and vignette of sledge traveling from first printing title page with a second title page dated 1836, map Arctic and track of route, 6 plates of illustrations and folding table of magnetic observations; Brown cloth boards with gilt lettering and illustrations on spine, blind embossed design and borders on front and rear covers, pale yellow end papers, all edges untrimmed; Some shelf wear to edges corners and surfaces, edges worn in spots, corners bumped and worn through, spine faded with tears and chips to top and bottom, partial splitting to top of joints, front and rear hinge cracked, some surface soiling and spots, some foxing throughout, prior owner signature marked out in ink. [Arctic Biblio 7529, Sabin 33626, Sanderson/NMM 852 (1835 editions), Stam 2.6 note]. Robert Huish (1776-1850) was an English prolific author that wrote history, beekeeping, and various other publications. This book was one of several that compiled information from the current explorations. From the Arctic Bibliography, "An unofficial narrative of the second Ross voyage in search of the North-west Passage, 1829-1833. ... The narrative (p. 100-694) is apparently based largely upon statements by Mr. Light, of whom Captain (Sir John) Ross had been highly critical .... It includes many small incidents and details, particularly concerning the meals of the expedition and the contacts between the crew and Eskimos, and the customs of the Eskimos with extensive derogatory references to Captain Ross." The publication history is muddled and research of references indicate this copy as a second printing by the original publisher.

Captain Sir John Ross (1777-1856) was a naval officer and Arctic explorer. After a naval and merchant career, in 1818, he sailed with Parry and his nephew, James Clark Ross, to find the Northwest passage from Baffin Bay and the open polar sea. He mistakenly charted "Crocker Hills" that blocked the westward travel in the Lancaster Sound and was accused of misrepresenting scientific results. Much controversy ensued, which delayed Ross' second expedition until 1829 commanding the Victory, one of the first steam ships. He was more successful in penetrating further west and surveying new Arctic lands, water passages and the North magnetic pole. The Victory was locked in ice and abandoned in 1832. By 1833, all of the crew were rescued by the Isabella in the Lancaster sound. In 1835, Ross published the "Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage (Inventory #: 13070)