ROSS, Chet. Lieutenant Nobu Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition 1910-1912: A Bibliography. Santa Monica, CA: Adélie Books. 2010.
8vo (229 x 165 mm). Over 160 high-resolution photographic illustrations in both color and black-and-white including 9 maps in text and 2 foldout entries. Original quarter blue calf, dark blue linen sides, upper cover stamped with an image of the Southern Cross constellation in silver foil, spine titled in silver, back cover with the Japanese kanji characters ??? (translation: Nobu Shirase); acetate and original printing mailing box.
FIRST EDITION, LIMITED ISSUE, number 100 of 290 copies. This unique copy is numbered copy #100 in honor of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Japanese Antarctic Expedition held in Japan in November 2010. It was carried by Chet Ross and signed by dignitaries and family members of some of the original Japanese Antarctic Expedition crew members who attended celebrations in Tokyo and Nikaho including Jun Shirase, grandson of Nobu Shirase, Zenya Taniguchi, Kiotaka Ishifuni, etc. The entry on pp. 62-65 (Ross 2.13.1) is signed by its author, Sekiya Toshitaka. Included with a signed prospectus and color photograph titled “Sunrise on Tokyo Bay” and dated on the 100th anniversary of the departure of the JAE. Chet Ross trekked to the shores of Tokyo Bay on the morning of the 100th anniversary and took this photograph.
A UNIQUE COPY of this invaluable resource on collecting Shirase and works related to the JAE. This is the first and only bibliography written on the subject and includes entries for every lot offered in this sale, most of which are the copies seen in the entry photographs. Ross 2.21A (“Rare”).