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...

London: John Murray, 1823.. xvi,768pp. including one in-text diagram, plus thirty-one plates (eleven in color) and four folding maps. Half title. Quarto. Contemporary calf, ruled and tooled in gilt, expertly rebacked to style in matching gilt calf, gilt leather label. Minor shelf wear, bookplate on front pastedown (see below). Light scattered foxing, some offsetting from plates. A very good, attractive copy. First edition, first issue of the narrative of Franklin's first expedition of 1819-22. Two issues were published of this first edition, both in 1823; the first collates 768 pages and has the folding maps dated March 1823, as in this copy. The bookplate on the front pastedown is that of Henry Thomas Liddell, 1st Earl Ravensworth. Liddell was a Tory politician who argued in favor of Catholic Emancipation in the late 19th century.

Franklin, along with naturalist Dr. John Richardson, was appointed to lead an expedition overland from Hudson Bay to east of the mouth of the Copper-Mine River for the purposes of establishing the latitudes and longitudes of the northern coast of America, developing a correct geographical description of the country, and searching for a northwest passage. Franklin's narrative includes a great deal of detail regarding the country, indigenous people, the murder of Robert Hood, and the disappointment of failing to find a passage. Franklin's second expedition would be somewhat more successful, but the complete loss of his third and final expedition would launch decades of similarly dangerous recovery attempts. Sabin calls the appendix valuable in its contribution to the knowledge of natural history in the area, including nearly one hundred pages of scientific details regarding the Aurora Borealis. The handsome plates include illustrations of the native peoples, landscapes, flora and fauna, ships at sea, and more. "'The views of Arctic scenery with which these volumes are both illustrated and embellished, are of extreme beauty.' - QUARTERLY REVIEW" - Sabin.

"Franklin's Narrative is of interest not only as a document of human courage and endurance, but also for its depiction of the Indians - Cree, Dog-Rib, and Chipewyan - on whom the survival of the expedition at least depended. Of note is Dr. Richardson's detailed account of the Cree, whom he observed daily during his winter's stay at Cumberland House" - Wagner-Camp. WAGNER-CAMP 23:1. FIELD 560. HILL 635. GRAFF 1406. LANDE 1181. PEEL 80. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 1326. SABIN 25624. TPL 1248. ABBEY 635. REESE, BEST OF THE WEST 47.