Description
The first edition of A Voyage of Discovery, Exploring Baffin’s Bay by Capt. John Ross, published in London in 1819.
Quarto, xxxix, [1], 252pp, [2], cxliv, [five fold-out diagrams]. Three quarter brown calf, raised bands, title stamped in gilt over black morocco label. Marbled boards, marbled endpapers, silk bookmark.
Complete with 32 engraved plates, maps and charts, including 15 hand-colored aquatints. Thirteen of the plates are folding, many with tissue covers. Some transference to charts towards the rear, scattered foxing to plates, color plates all near fine. Hinge on “Wolstenholme Sound” foldout starting. Booksellers’ stamp on second free endpaper. Text generally clean, binding solid. Lacking errata slip. Ownership inscription of “E.B. Portman” along top margin of title page.
(Arctic Bibliography 14873) (Sabin 73376) (Hill 1488)
John Ross (1777-1856) a British naval officer and explorer. He led the First British Arctic Expedition in 1818 aboard HMS Isabella with HMS Alexander in consort, tasked by the British Admiralty with surveying Baffin Bay and assessing the viability of a Northwest Passage. Sailing via Davis Strait, Ross charted coastal features, made contact with Inuit communities near Cape York, and gathered valuable hydrographic and ethnographic data, but controversially reported a chain of supposed high mountains-the “Croker Mountains”-barring the entrance to Lancaster Sound, prompting him to turn back. Although the voyage confirmed much of the early Baffin Bay geography, Ross’s decision to withdraw and the disputed mountain sighting drew criticism at home and later spurred further expeditions, most notably William Edward Parry’s successful transit into Lancaster Sound in 1819, which effectively disproved Ross’s claimed barrier. Full title: 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.
