Parry, William Edward (1790-1855) Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North West Passage, Five Volume Set.

Description:

Parry, William Edward (1790-1855) Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North West Passage, Five Volume Set. London: John Murray, 1821-1828. First editions, five quarto volumes, also including: Journal of a Second and Third Voyage; An Attempt to Reach the North Pole; [with] A Supplement Containing an Account of the Subjects of Natural History; [bound with] Richardson's Appendix to Parry's Journal; all volumes bound in full tan calf, the first volume in full modern leather, the other four rebacked, with uniform elaborately gilt-tooled spines, each with three labels; illustrated as follows: the Journal with six engraved maps (four folding) and fourteen engraved plates; the Second Voyage with nine engraved maps (four folding) and thirty engraved plates (four folding); the Third Voyage with four maps (one folding) and seven plates (one folding); the North Pole with three engraved maps (one folding with hand-colored details) and four engraved plates; the Natural History Supplement with nine engraved plates; errata slip in the Journal, modern bookplate on front pastedowns, embossed blind-stamp of Manchester City Library to title pages and the occasional text leaf, minor old ink notations to inner margin of title pages; generally clean, 10 1/4 x 8 in.
Parry was in search of a Northwest Passage and made three separate attempts. A full run of the North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle, a periodical edited by Captain Sabine for the crew during the winter of the first voyage is also included in this set. Parry's main contribution (since a Northwest Passage was not forthcoming) consists in his exploration of the Arctic. Like so many of the other explorers of his age, he collected information related to local climate and natural history, in addition to drafting original charts. Ethnographic notes are included as well, including fairly complete accounts of the cultural practices of the Inuit people living along the Polar Sea north of Canada. In the plates, one can see representations of their way of life, including images of fishing, walrus hunting, their boats, summer and winter lodging, villages, and more.
Provenance: The Estate of David Spinney.
Estimate $5,000-7,000


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