From Edinburgh to the Antarctic; An Artist’s Notes and Sketches during the Dundee Antarctic Expedition of 1892-93 | With a Chapter by W. S. Bruce
London: Longmans, Green and Co., LTD, 1894. Very Good. First Edition. [9x6.25in]; [i-vi], vii-xii, 364 pp., 1-32 pp. publisher’s advertisements, 123 black and white in text with eight full page illustrations, two maps (one color and one folding); Dark green pebbled cloth on covers, silver lettering on front and spine, silver gilt and brown ink illustration of Balaena and whale boat in ice, black clay end papers, top and fore edges rough trimmed; Minimal shelf wear, corners bumped spine darken, two dents on rear cover, dusty top edges and light foxing spots in text, offsets on folding map, two bookseller stamps (Berkelouw Books, Australia and Sothern, London), repaired closed tear to front end paper. Overall condition is Very Good with bright silver gilt and covers. [Rosove 234.A1a, Conrad p. 74, Spence 825, Taurus 12]. Item #11655
Dundee Whaling Expedition was a commercial and scientific expedition of four ships, Alexander Fairweather on "Balaena", Thomas Robertson on "Active", Rovert Davidson on "Diana" and James Davidson on "Polar Star". The expedition was funded by investors to hunt and explore the new Antarctic whaling grounds in the Weddell Sea for right whales. The Royal Geographical Society and Meteorological Office contributed scientific instruments for the ships' Doctors/Naturalists to make observations. The commercial part of the expedition was not successful. No right whales were found and the crews resorted to hunting seals. William S. Bruce was the doctor/naturalist on the "Balaena" and had encourage the owners in hiring an Artist for the voyage. Bruce went on to lead the Scottish National Antarctic expedition, commanding the "Scotia" in 1902
William Gordon Burn Murdoch (1862 – 1939) was a Scottish painter, travel writer and explorer. His first major expedition was in 1892 when he joined an investigative whaling expedition to the Antarctic. He served as an assistant to William Speirs Bruce, a medical student with an interest in oceanography (future leader of Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04) . With his paintings, sketches and notes he wrote this book. It was said that he was the first "Artist in Residence" in the Antarctic. From Rosove, “Murdoch’s narrative covers the voyage south at great length, providing a fascinating picture of shipboard life, together with chantey’s and yarns in Scottish dialect. The Falkland Islands account is well detailed. The Antarctic portion of the narrative contains astute observations of the wildlife and sealing operations. Bruce contributed a chapter summarizing the scientific observations.”.
Price: $750.00