1883 The Voyage of the Jeannette

Description

Decorative Binding, First Edition, Folding Maps, Illustrated, Publishers' Original Binding

This work comprises the journals of George W. De Long (1844-1881), a United States Naval officer and leader of the 'Jeanette' expedition, which sought to discover the Open Polar Sea, unencumbered by ice. They disproved the theory after their vessel was trapped by ice, drifting for two years before being sunk off the Siberian coast. De Long subsequently led his men on, resulting in the deaths of twenty of the thirty-three members of the expedition, including De Long who starved to death; a survivor, George W. Melville was rescued and returned to find his ill-fated team mates.

The De Long islands, two naval ships and an Alaskan mountain range were named in his honour.

Complete in two volumes. 

Edited by the wife of De Long.

Illustrated with a steel frontispiece of De Long, a number of maps, charts and diagrams and many vignette and full plate illustrations on wood and stone. Volume I contains one double page map, one folding map, two steel engravings and six full plate wood engravings. Volume II is lacking a frontispiece and contains two folding maps and seven full plates.

A first edition of this work.