ROSS, John, Sir (1777-1856). A Voyage of Discovery, Made Under the Orders of the Admiralty, in His Majesty's Ships Isabella and Alexander, for the Purpose of Exploring Baffin’s Bay and Inquiring into the Probability of a North-West Passage. London: John Murray, 1819.
4to (273 x 216 mm). 3 folding engraved maps, 29 aquatint plates (15 hand-colored); errata slip tipped after title-page. (Some offsetting to maps, light offsetting from plates to text). Later half morocco. Provenance: trimmed contemporary signature on title-page.
FIRST EDITION OF ROSS’S FAMOUS FIRST VOYAGE. Ross, along with William Parry, his nephew James Clark Ross, and Edward Sabine, attempted to proceed westward through Lancaster Sound. Deceived, quite possibly by a mirage, Ross described the passage as barred by a mountain range that he named the Croker Mountains. On his return to England, his observations were initially accepted as conclusive. He was promoted to post rank on 7 December 1818. Controversy would soon follow, as Sir John Barrow, who learned that there were some doubts as to the existence of the Croker Mountains, dispatched another expedition under the command of Parry. Despite Ross’s willingness to make another voyage, he was not given another opportunity to lead an Arctic expedition until 1829 (see next lot). Abbey Travel 634; Arctic Bib. 14873; Hill 1488; Sabin 73376; TPL 1152.