South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917

London: William Heinemann, 1919, First Edition, First Impression. Royal octavo, [ii], xxii, 376 pages with 6 sketch maps (one full-page) with colour frontispiece by Frank Hurley with publisher's captioned tissue-guard, a double-page panorama of South Georgia and 86 full-page plates, a large fold-out color map and publisher's tipped-in errata slip. Original silver-pictorial dark blue cloth with bright silver foil image of the. "Endurance" on front cover, sliver lettering on spine; acidic paper and to a lesser extent, the outer margins of the plates tanned and common with this first impression; short professionally closed tear to the map near the stub; a near fine copy of a very scarce first printing of this important narrative. Rosove 308.A.1.

The captivating narrative of Ernest Shackleton's famous Endurance Expedition, and probably the most evocative narrative of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, telling of the survival of Shackleton and his crew under the most extreme circumstances. "I think that though failure in the actual accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters in this book of high adventure, strenuous days, lonely nights, unique experiences, and above all, records of unflinching determination, supreme loyalty, and generous self-sacrifice on the part of my men which, even in these days that have witnessed the sacrifices of nations and regardless of self on the part of individuals, still will be of interest to readers who now turn gladly from the red horror of war and the strain of the last five years to read, perhaps with more understanding minds, the tale of the White Warfare of the South. The struggles, the disappointments, and the endurance of this small party of British, hidden away for nearly two years in the fastnesses of the Polar ice, striving to carry out the ordained task and ignorant of the crises through which the world was passing, make a story which is unique in the history of Antarctic exploration." —Ernest Shackleton -

The Imperial Transantarctic Expedition of 1914-17 comprised two teams, the Weddell Sea party in the 'Endurance' and the Ross Sea party in the 'Aurora'. 'An essential aspect of Shackleton's scheme for crossing the Antarctic was that a second and separate expedition should establish a base on the Ross Sea to provide support for the transantarctic party and establish forward depots'. Things went horribly wrong for both parties, with the 'Endurance' fragmenting under the pressure of being locked in the ice of the Weddell Sea, resulting in the famous journey of survival that culminated in the epic voyage of the 22-foot boat 'James Caird' to South Georgia Island. Shackleton then learned that the men of the Ross Sea party were stranded on Ross Island. When the relief expedition finally reached them, two members of the party had perished. Shackleton returned 'to England in May 1917 and dictated the text of the popular account of the expedition to Edward Saunders, largely from recollection. Final editing was carried out by Leonard Hussey, with personal accounts by Mackintosh, Stenhouse and others, and the book was finally published in 1919' -- Howgego, Volume 3. 'This exploit, which has captured the modern imagination, certainly struck the world differently in 1919; in the aftermath of the First World War feats of extraordinary heroism were thick on the ground, and so Shackleton's truly remarkable tale of survival at the extremes of human endurance largely fell flat. This is emphasized in the book's production: the first issue contained cheap paper prone to severe browning, a poorly crafted binding likely to split at the joints with normal usage and silver printing on the binding subject to oxidizing'. -- Taurus 105.