Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of The Polar Sea, in the Years 1819, 20, 21, and 22, with An Appendix on Various Subjects Relating to Science and Natural History, Franklin, Capt. John. Published by John Murray, London, UK, 1823. First Edition. 4to – over 9¾” – 12″ tall; xvi., 768pp. with 30 plates, 11 of which are hand-coloured or aquatints, 4 folding maps at rear. Black cloth boards with red spine label. Front board is detached. Half-title and frontispiece detached in one section with one additional detached page in later section. Contents have light scattered foxing, light damp staining to two plates and to a few pages upper edge; toning to maps.
The first edition, first issue describing Sir John Franklin’s first voyage to explore the north coast of the American continent east of the Coppermine River. Covering 5,500 miles and lasting for three years, the journey was one of unimaginable hardship, with many men in Franklin’s party dying of starvation, exposure, and murder. Franklin returned to London in 1822 a hero, and this narrative at once became a classic of travel literature.
