The Heart of the Antarctic; Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909
London: William Heinemann, 1909. Very Good. First Edition. in two volumes [10.25x7.75in]; Rebound in dark blue cloth with original binding and spine attached, silver letters and image of three explorers and flag on front and gilt lettering on spine, top edge gilt and other edges uncut; Vol I -xlviii, 371 pp., Vol II -xv, errata slip, 419 pp., 2 frontispieces and 12 colored plates with printed tissue guards, 225 black/white plates, 11 diagrams, and 2 panoramas and 3 maps in rear pocket; Expertly rebound bindings have minimal shelf wear, original cover silver image in Vol I shows some shelf wear and Vol II minimal shelf wear, original spine age darkening with minor loss of at bottom in Vol I and shelf wear in Vol II, book binder stamp on rear end papers. Overall condition is very good [Rosove 305.B1, Taurus 58, Howgego 2006 S20]. Item #13022
Known as the Nimrod Expedition, this was Ernest Shackleton first expedition as a leader. This expedition achieved several ‘firsts’ - the discovery of the magnetic pole by Edgewood David and Douglas Mawson, the accent of Mt. Erebus, several scientific sledging trips and a polar plateau trip reaching within 97 miles of the South Pole. Shackleton and three others turned back short of the pole due to doubtful food and fuel supply to safely return to the expedition’s base at Cape Royds. In a letter to his wife Emily, Shackleton said “I thought, dear, that you would rather have a live ass than a dead lion.” His efforts mapped the route to the South Pole that Scott used in the ill fated 1912 expedition. For his polar achievements, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII.
Price: $975.00