ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS WITH A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERY by Scoresby William - 1969

Devon: David & Charles Reprints, 1969. 2 volumes. The first edition of this reprint of the rare 1820 first edition, with a new introduction by Professor Sir Alister Hardy. Illustrated with fine reproductions of the original 24 engraved plates, including two folding frontispiece engravings, a large folding map of the Arctic regions, folding panoramic views, folding map of the Greenland Sea, folding view of the Island of Jan Mayan and several plates of whales and whaling implements. 8vo, publisher's original light blue cloth gilt lettered on the spine within black labels and in the original blue paper jackets printed in black. [10], xx, 551, 82 appendix; viii, 574 pp. Excellent copies, appearing near as mint, the jackets also pristine, the blue cloth with no wear though with the speckling (not staining) caused by offsetting from the verso of the jackets, and as normally found. FIRST EDITION OF THE SCARCE FACSIMILE OF THE RARE 1820 EDINBURGH FIRST EDITION. This important work contains one of the best narratives available on whaling along with geography, hydrography and zoology of the Polar Regions and the search for the Northwest Passage.
The author was one of the most successful whaling captains of the day. For his scientific achievements he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society. After retiring from whaling he graduated in theology at Cambridge. His writing, both narrative and scientific, is excellent
Sir Alister Hardy in his introduction to this new edition says, "The second volume is, I believe, the finest account of the Arctic whale fisheries ever written. Here is not only an excellent early history, a detailed account of the method used and a study of the economics of the industry at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries; but there is something much more exciting. Our sailor scientist is also a brilliant writer: here we find some of the most striking passages in literature describing the excitement and dangers of the chase, passages which will stand comparison with Moby Dick." -Dustjacket.