Antarctic, Arctic, Polar

Antarctica – Evangelos Papathanassiou – Scarce Vinyl Pressing 1983

Fine copy of the soundtrack by “Vangelis” to Koreyoshi Kurahara’s 1983 film about the 1958 ill-fated Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole, and the dramatic rescue from impossible weather conditions on their return journey. It’s as much about the survival of some of the dogs initially left behind as the people. Vangelis was invited to produce his dramatic electronic music score after the worldwide success of Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner.

The film was not that successful overseas, whilst being the Japanese sponsored entry it was not accepted in the foreign language section of the Academy Awards. Back home in Japan the beautiful huskies managed to get the film a Popularity Award.

Vangelis on the other hand shows his usual innovation and brilliance. Rare Japanese pressing. Perfect Condition.

Best listened to with the aircon very low

$40.00

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Scott of the Antarctic – Royal Doulton

A miniature jug by Royal Doulton, from their Explorers Series. Scott of the Antarctic in fine condition no marks or chips. Tiny in size .. around 6cm by 4cm. Designed by Stanley Taylor and issued as limited number of 2,000 in 1997.

Scott remembered albeit in a small way

$30.00

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The Long Labrador Trail – Dillon Wallace – First Edition 1907

A first edition published by The Outing Publishing Company, New York. It was published simultaneously in Toronto. Octavo, 308 pages plus appendix of weather information daily. Nicely illustrated with 29 photographic images, coloured frontispiece and folding map at rear. The beautiful pictorial covers complete a very book. Showing some age but still nice and clean inside and a pretty good copy.

Dillon Wallace (1863-1939) had legal training but loved the outdoors. In 1903, he accompanied Leonidas Hubbard on an exploratory trip through Labrador planning to follow the Naskaupi River to Lake Michikamau where no previous Europeans had trod. They followed the wrong river and got into so much difficulty that Hubbard fell ill and died of starvation. Wallace survived and wrote his first book The Lure of the Labrador Wild published in 1905. In that book, he blamed Hubbard for the mistakes he made leading to his own death. This infuriated his wife.

Wallace planned a much more adventurous expedition still and that is the subject of this book. Hubbard’s wife on hearing of the expedition planned her own, along the same lines and beat Wallace to the final destination by some weeks. She also wrote a book A Woman’s Way Through Unknown Labrador … neither refer to each other!

Wallace in Labrador a second time with success and unmentioned competition.

$120.00

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The Great Frozen North – Jackson – First Edition 1895

The Great Frozen North (Bolshaia Zemelskija Tundra); Narrative of a Winter Journey Across the Tundras and a Sojourn Among the Samoyads.

Edited by Arthur Montefiore from the journals of Frederick George Jackson (1860 – 1938).

Published by Macmillan, London a first edition 1895 in very good condition. Large octavo, 297 pages after preliminaries numerous illustrations from photographs and drawings with three foldout coloured maps showing the route taken. Original blue cloth binding with the lovely gilt deer to front.

In the autumn 1893 Jackson explored Vatgack Island spending a year among the Samoyeds gaining sledging experience with reindeer. He then sledged 3,000 miles along the Arctic coast from Vaygach to the Pachora River and on to Ust Tsilma then west to the Menzen working his way up the coast of the White Sea north to Varanger Fiord. All of which was in preparation for his planned expedition through Franz Josef land the following year sponsored by the RGS. This book has become a fundamental reference to the way of life of the native Samoyed people.

Incidentally, during his later Franz Josef expedition Jackson came across Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen who had been lost for three years and had been trying to get to Spitsbergen and assisted them in a safe journey home aboard the Windward. Jackson received a knighthood of the first class of the Norwegian Royal Order of St Olaf for saving their exploration hero.

Jackson went on to have a distinguished military career rising to the rank of Major. As a youth he spent time in Queensland on a cattle station. In his last year he lived on a houseboat on the Thames. Quite a character.

$260.00

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The Royal Geographical Society Journal – May 1932 – Polar, Mountaineering and Franklin

A complete copy of the Journal in original blue wrappers.

Lead articles include the British Arctic Air Expedition under Hubert Watkins (author of some interesting works on Northern Queensland); The expedition in the Tien-Shan by Schomberg and further evidence of John Franklin’s retreat by William Gibson. Good photographic images as often and two nice maps of the of Greenland up to the 68th parallel and localised map of the Base Fjord. Nice condition all round.

Climbing in the Tien-Shan and Arctic Air Expedition keep exploration alive in 1932

$90.00

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The Friendly Arctic – Vilhjalmur Stefansson – c1927

The first UK edition c1927 of this great book by Stefansson. Imperial octavo 784 pages after preliminaries with two very good folding maps in rear pocket. A substantial volume. Very good condition albeit foxing to endpapers up to the title otherwise clean and throughout. Magnificently illustrated with 68 plates and a further 7 maps, some folding, in the body of the work.

Forward by Gilbert Grosvenor and introduction by Sir Robert Bowden setting out the origin and organisation of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-18. Records of incredible tributes of Stefansson from Greely and the last public appearance of Admiral Peary who died shortly afterwards.

Stefansson most comprehensive in his written account with many images and maps

$120.00

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Antarctica – Evangelos Papathanassiou – Scarce Vinyl Pressing 1983

Scott of the Antarctic – Royal Doulton

The Long Labrador Trail – Dillon Wallace – First Edition 1907

The Great Frozen North – Jackson – First Edition 1895

The Royal Geographical Society Journal – May 1932 – Polar, Mountaineering and Franklin

The Friendly Arctic – Vilhjalmur Stefansson – c1927

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