Philadelphia:, Childs & Peterson,, 1856. First edition. "In a brief life of thirty-six years, mostly in ill health, Elisha Kent participated in two Arctic expeditions and by the time of his death in 1857 was regarded as a true American hero and one of the nation's most popular authors... Little went right in the second expedition [but] there were many notable achievements... The discoveries of Kennedy Channel, the Kane Basin, a record north of 80° 10'N, and the sighting of the Humboldt Glacier were important firsts for Kane... The book became enormously popular (135,000 copies sold within three years), being marketed at trade shows and sold door to door, and often compared to the Bible for wide dissemination on America's bedside reading tables" (Books on Ice). Two volumes, octavo (224 x 138 mm). Attractively bound in recent dark blue morocco, titles and decoration to spine gilt, raised bands, single rule to boards, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With engraved vignette titles, engraved portrait frontispieces of Kane and Grinnell, 18 engraved plates after J. Hamilton, 2 maps (one folding), folding isothermal chart, and numerous wood engravings in the text. Lightly marked and foxed, a very good copy handsomely bound. Arctic Bibliography 8373; Books on Ice 3.9; Hill 904 & 905; Howgego, Polar, K3; National Maritime Museum Catalogue, Voyages & Travel, 924; Sabin 37001.

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Bookseller: Peter Harrington (GB)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 100141
Title: Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition
Author: KANE, Elisha Kent
Book Condition: Used
Binding: Hardcover
Place of Publication: Philadelphia:, Childs & Peterson,
Date Published: 1856
Note: May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.

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Peter Harrington

All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.

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Peter Harrington

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Biblio member since 2006

London

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About Peter Harrington

Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Edges: The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
Vignette: A decorative design or illustration placed at the beginning or end of a ...
Foxed: Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Octavo: Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
Morocco: Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
Raised Band(s): Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Gilt: The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...