PHIPPS, CONSTANTINE JOHN.

A Voyage towards the North Pole undertaken by His Majesty's Command 1773.

London, Bowyer and J. Nichols, 1774.

4to. Contemp. full sprinkled calf. Raised bands. Richly gilt compartments. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Light wear to spine ends. Light wear to edges. Corners a bit bumped. Folded engraved maps as frontispiece. VIII,253 pp.,14 folded engraved plates (incl. 2 charts), folded letterpress tables. Wide-margined with a few scattred brownspots. A few leaves and plates with light browning.

First edition. "An important addition to nautical science which does honor to its author. Besides of a journal of the voyage, it contains a descriptive catalogue of the natural productions of Spitzbergen." (Sabin). Phipps here mapped the northern part of Spitzbergen.
"First edition of the official account written by Captain Phipps, later Lord Mulgrave. This expedition of the Racehorse and Carcass, undertaken for the purpose of discovering a route to India through the northern polar regions, was blocked by pack ice north of Spitzbergen. The valuable appendix gives geographical and meteorological observations, zoological and botanical records, accounts of the distillation of fresh water from the sea, and astronomical observations. The voyage is perhaps best remembered for the presence of young Horatio Nelson, as midshipman aboard the Carcass, and his encounter with a polar bear" (Hill).
Sabin, 62572.

Order-nr.: 53867