ROSS, John (1777-1856). Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage, and of a Residence in the Arctic Regions during the years 1829 [-] 1833. Including the Discovery of the Northern Magnetic Pole. [And]: Appendix to the Narrative. London: A.W. Webster, 1835.
2 volumes, 4to (302 x 238mm). Volume one with 31 plates and maps, comprising: 5 maps and charts of which is one is printed in 2 colors, a folding engraved map partially hand-colored, and 25 plates of which 3 are color-printed mezzotints with touches of hand-coloring and 6 are hand-colored lithographs; volume two with steel-engraved portrait frontispiece (starting), and 19 other plates of which 12 are hand-colored (toned, some offsetting to plates, light spotting chiefly at ends and margins but also to Meteorology section, long taped tear to large map in vol. 1). Contemporary blind-stamped calf (neatly rebacked, corners a bit worn, light edgewear). Provenance: John C. Weaver (bookplates dated 1948); Martin L. Greene (booklabels) notable polar book collector; his sale, Christie’s New York, 7 December 2017, lot 219.
FIRST EDITION of this “wonderfully interesting narrative of human endurance, triumphing over the most awful peril and suffering. The sumptuous printing which makes every page a picture has even its luxury enhanced by the splendid steel engravings and lithographs. The former are so excellent as to be worthy of preservation as gems of art.” (Field).
After Ross’s disastrous voyage of 1818, the Admiralty refused to allow him to lead another Arctic expedition until 1829. With assistance from gin magnate Felix Booth and with contributions by Ross himself, he commanded the steam vessel Victory with his nephew James Clark Ross as second in charge. In searching for a passage south from Regent's inlet, the Victory was stopped by ice, and Ross and his men spent the winter of 1829-1830 in Felix Harbor. In the summer of 1830, the ship made some progress and got a few miles further south to winter in Victoria harbor. But there it remained stuck in the ice, and in May 1832 was abandoned. Ross and his men made their way to Fury Beach, where they passed yet another winter in a hut built from the wreck of the Fury and managed to survive by eating an Inuit diet. In the summer of 1833, they succeeded in reaching Ross’s old ship, the Isabella, in Lancaster Sound and used it to return to England. The voyage, remarkable for the length of time spent in the ice, yielded much in the way of scientific observations, including information on natural history, meteorology, navigation, and ethnology. James Clark Ross was also able to discover the Magnetic North Pole. Abbey Travel 636; Arctic Bib. 14866; Field 1321; Hill 1490; Lande 1426; NMM 850; Sabin 73381; TPL 1808.