Antarctic, Arctic, Polar

Rough Water – Stories of Survival from the Seas – Clint Willis

A worthy soft cover published by the aptly named Adrenaline Books, New York in 1999. Octavo, 356 pages, fancy wrap card covers add to sturdiness. Very good to better copy.

Interesting mix of fact and fiction from Shackleton, Knox-Johnstone, Trumbull on the raft with Patrick O’Brian and Wauk (Caine Mutiny – let’s not forget Bogie!) then on to cold water and David Lewis etc. Glossary and bibliography at the end all help those new to the water.

Survival at sea all from your armchair

$25.00

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Race to the South Pole – Roald Amundsen

Published in 2007 by White Star. This is Roald Amundsen’s account of the achievement of the South Pole … from the Murray translation of the first English.

Here modernised and updated with a few recent images as well as some from that day. Map albeit significantly reduced in scale from the original.

Thick octavo, 636 pages, pictorial boards no separate wrapper as issued. A solid production tightly bound.

A good version of this most important account and not one that will bust your pocket.

South Pole achieved by the Amundsen led team.

$30.00

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The Autobiography of “Evans of the Broke” [Or Teddy Evans Polar Explorer] – Admiral Lord Mountevans

And boldly on the dust jacket – Second in Command of Scott’s Last Polar Expedition – Commander in Chief of the Royal Australian Navy and Africa Station and perhaps the Greatest British Naval Adventurer – the first tow fact the third and final rather bold for an autobiography.

This edition published in 1952 by Hutchinson, the first 1946. Octavo, 250 pages, nicely illustrated from period photographs including his polar period. Super copy in a very good jacket.

A determined chap as one could imagine – history has spoilt the Scott / Evans relationship throwing up some unsavoury thoughts from the pair that flow both ways. One day the parrot on the perch the next the feather duster!

The reference to Broke may confuse – he was far from being short of a bob – HMS Broke, his command during WWI, sunk five German destroyers. His time as leader of the Australian Squadron is of significance.

Teddy Evans eked out an eventful life

$40.00

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Two Against the Ice [the “Alabama” Expedition, 1909-1912] Ejnar Mikkelsen

Scarce Travel Book Club publication by Rupert Hart-Davis published London, no date but 1950’s. Translated from Danish by Maurice Michael. Octavo, 224, map of North-East Greenland the location of the adventure. Dust jacket has age, edge tears, some age, generally pretty clean inside a good copy.

One of the great Arctic adventure accounts. The purpose of the expedition was to map out the northeast coastline of Greenland and to recover the bodies of Mylius-Erichsen and Hoeg-Hagen.

Mikkelsen and his engineer Iversen wintered on Shannon Island. Their ship, the Alabama, got trapped in the ice and the rest of the party returned home on a whaler. The pair succeeded after a series of hazardous sledge journeys in recovering the lost records of the missing party and disproving the existence of Peary Channel. On returning to base and finding the crew gone they erected a makeshift hut from salvaged timbers and spent two winters there before being rescued. It got a bit frayed between the two of them, but they made up in the end – this book is dedicated to Iversen.

Classic Arctic adventure in North-east Greenland

$60.00

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In the Great White Land (A Tale of the Antarctic Ocean) – Gordan Stables

Published by Blackie, London in the early 1930’s.

Octavo, 288 pages thick spongy paper and despite the spongy quite clean with some marks to the extreme per edge. Coloured frontispiece and three full page illustrations. Prize label on front end papers. Rare in the striking illustrated dust jacket.

Three stories and despite the subtitle starts with … “Far Away in the Frozen North” an Arctic adventure on the good barque Walrus and the oft frozen Captain Mayne Brace (great pun). Story two “Under the Southern Cross” requires no clue as to the general location with many icy encounters. Finally “On the Great Antarctic Continent” and the beauty and marvel of the Ice-Cave. The sledging journey across the tableland and the dash for the pole takes its lead from the great Heroic Era accounts.

Adventure in the frozen South – very South.

$80.00

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The Discovery of the South Shetland Islands. The Voyage of the Brig Williams – Journal of Midshipman Poynter [ed R.J. Campbell]

One of our favourite Hakluyt production, published 2000, on the discovery of the South Shetland Islands – which are very south and remote and play such a big part in the whole Antarctic exploration story.

The story of the Brig Williams voyage of 1819-20 referencing the Journal of Midshipman C.W. Poynter and other contemporary documents. As with all Hakluyt the editor does a special job with thorough and intense research and a quality honed narrative.

Quarto, xvi, 232 pages with 31 illustrations and maps. Original blue cloth binding, good dust jacket a very good all round copy. Heavy item.

In 1819 a general cargo vessel in sailing from Montevideo to Valparaiso ventured to the extreme south hoping for more favourable winds, spotting land at around 62 degrees south. On a second voyage they deliberately sough out the coastline taking soundings etc. Following these reports the Brig Williams was prepared to properly survey this new discovery under Master Edward Bransfield.

The journal of Midshipman Poynter was recently found in New Zealand and is the backbone to this book. It is the only first hand account of a voyage during which the Antarctic mainland was sighted.

South Shetlands all to like it’s namesake, cold and windy but more isolated.

$60.00

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Rough Water – Stories of Survival from the Seas – Clint Willis

Race to the South Pole – Roald Amundsen

The Autobiography of “Evans of the Broke” [Or Teddy Evans Polar Explorer] – Admiral Lord Mountevans

Two Against the Ice [the “Alabama” Expedition, 1909-1912] Ejnar Mikkelsen

In the Great White Land (A Tale of the Antarctic Ocean) – Gordan Stables

The Discovery of the South Shetland Islands. The Voyage of the Brig Williams – Journal of Midshipman Poynter [ed R.J. Campbell]

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