Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, in response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of December 11, 1884, Lt. P.H. Ray. Published by Washington: Government Printing Office, 1885. First Edition. 4to – over 9¾” – 12″ tall. 695pp. with 3 color lithographs and 10 phototype plates, chromolithograph frontis, folding map. Original black cloth boards with typed title label to front board. Contents are free of markings, tears etc.; plates are in fine condition; hinges weakened at frontispiece and title page. Boards have moderate wear.
The 1885 Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska details a U.S. Army Signal Corps expedition led by Lt. P.H. Ray from 1881–1883. As part of the first International Polar Year, the 10-man team established a station at Cape Smythe to conduct magnetic, meteorological, and environmental observations
The report includes detailed findings on mammals, birds, fishes, insects, marine invertebrates, plants, and minerals collected during the two-year stay. A major component was the in-depth, firsthand study of the indigenous population, including a “vocabulary collected among the Eskimos of Point Barrow and Cape Smythe,” a census of the Cape Smythe village, and a catalog of ethnographic items.
