A Tale Of The Antarctic
THE EARLIEST PUBLISHED ANTARCTIC POETRY, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR
Thulia A Tale Of The Antarctic
Published by Samuel Colman, 1843.
First edition. 8vo. Publisher's navy blue cloth, with gilt stamped decoration and lettering to the upper cover and spine, with further decoration and rules in blind. An author's presentation copy, inscribed by Palmer "To Dr Wm. W. Baynes, Surgeon R.N., with the compliments of his friend J C Palmer. U.S. Ship St. Mary's. December 18 1845." Woodcut frontispiece, two full-page woodcuts and nine further woodcuts as head- and tailpieces and vignettes. A very good copy indeed, with a couple of small splashes to the boards but generally a very clean and bright example of an uncommon book.
A most uncommon account - in the form of two epic poems - of the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-42. It is the only surviving account of the USS Flying Fish from the expedition, and also constitutes the earliest published Antarctic poetry.
Palmer explains in his preface that "the following Poem is a true story of the incidents more minutely detailed in the Appendix, to which the reader is referred for a narrative prepared from the journals of the 'Flying-Fish'. It unfortunately happened that all these journals, which had been collected on board the U. S. Ship Peacock, were lost with that vessel, at the mouth of the Columbia; so that the account which I wrote only for the gratification of a few friends, has become the sole remaining history of a highly interesting adventure."
Inscribed copies are most uncommon in commerce.
Rosove notes that "the bindings and paper have stood the test of time poorly," though this copy is uncommonly well preserved.
Stock ID: 39134
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