With The "Aurora" in the Antarctic 1911-1914

London: Andrew Melrose, 1919. First edition. Very Good. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in black ink to front free endpaper "G. Rawson with every good wish from John K. Davis, Melbourne. Nov. 17th 1924'. Original publisher's blue pictorial cloth gilt. Half-title with tissue-guard, 8 maps (1 folding at rear), 42 plates (with 83 black and white photographs), further in-text maps, plans and illustrations, a photograph of the author pasted to front pastedown. Gilt dulled to spine, boards a little marked and bumped. Frontispiece a little frayed to outer margin, occasional light spotting to contents. A Very Good copy.

A scarce work inscribed. Davis captained the Aurora during Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, making him second in command. He had previously served as Chief Officer on the Nimrod with Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition (1907-09). "As captain of the Aurora during Mawson's 1911-14 expedition, Davis was able to produce one of the few first-hand accounts available in print. His publishers, however, clearly had wartime difficulties with the book, most often seen today with its gilt lettering and decoration badly faded" (Taurus). The work provides great detail on the expedition, with copious plans, maps and illustrations. In 1917, after the stranding of the Endurance in Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, it was Davis in the Aurora who (with Shackleton as his supernumarary) rescued the Ross Sea Party. Shackleton had initially wanted Davis to captain the Endurance, however Davis refused, believing the expedition was "foredoomed". The Davis Sea in Eastern Antarctica is named after him.

Rosove, 87.A1; Spence, 354; Taurus 101. Very Good.