Narrative of a Second Voyage in search of a North-West Passage, and of a Residence in the Arctic Regions ... [With:] Appendix to the Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage by ROSS, Sir John (1777-1856) - 1835

London: A.W. Webster, 1835. 2 volumes, large quarto. (12 3/8 x 9 3/4 inches). [Narrative]: 6 maps (1 folding engraved map, 5 lithographic charts and maps), 25 plates (9 hand-coloured, comprised of 6 lithographs, 16 engravings, 3 mezzotints printed in colors). Errata leaf. Binder's advertisement of Remnant & Edmonds tipped-in. Endpapers renewed, scattered minor foxing. [Appendix]: 20 plates (4 engravings [1 hand-coloured]; 16 lithographs [11 hand-coloured]). 37pp. list of subscribers, 1p. with errata and additions to subscriber's list. Publisher's blue-green patterned cloth, flat spines lettered in gilt (first volume expertly rebacked with the original spine) Provenance: Lord Fitzhardinge, Berkeley Castle (bookplate in Narrative); John Cretton (bookplate in Appendix) First editions of both the Narrative and the separately-issued Appendix to Ross' second Arctic voyage: the large-paper, "royal" issue, with additional hand coloured plates, in the publisher's cloth. After his failure to explore Lancaster Sound in his first voyage of 1818, Ross had his 1829-33 second voyage privately financed. Although forced to abandon his steamship Victory in the ice at Felix Harbour (a fact that in the present official account Ross blames largely on the shortcomings of the boilers supplied by Braithwaite), his second expedition achieved a number of milestones. Besides the most thorough exploration of Boothia Peninsula that had been accomplished to date, James Clark Ross (John Ross's nephew) undertook an overland journey across the peninsula and became the first to reach the North Magnetic Pole. Two issues of the Narrative were published, a standard issue containing 3 color plates (i.e. the three colour printed mezzotints) and a "royal" issue, printed on larger paper and with 6 plates additionally hand coloured. A lovely set in the original publisher's binding. Abbey, Travel II, 636; Arctic Bibliography 14866; Chavanne 1450; Sabin 73381; Staton & Tremaine 1808; Lande 1462; TPL 1808.