18 - [ARCTIC] GREELY, Adolphus W. *In the Arctic Ice: An Account of the American Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, 1881–1884*.

[ARCTIC] GREELY, Adolphus W. *In the Arctic Ice: An Account of the American Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, 1881–1884*. First French edition in period binding. A copy from the library of Paul-Émile Victor. Paris, Hachette et Cie, 1889. Large quarto, ebony half-maroquin, spine with raised bands accented by a gilt fillet, gilt decorative frame with panels, gilt head. vi and 573 pp., 130 black-and-white illustrations and 4 fold-out maps, including a large one at the end titled “La Terre de Grinnell.” Binding is scuffed with some leather loss on the lower cover, upper cap partially missing, hinges split, margins foxed, slight water stain on the lower margin of the leaves in the second part of the volume, tear in the map. First French edition. Translated from the English with the author’s permission by Mrs. L. Trigant. An account of the dramatic American expedition led by Lieutenant Greely to Lady Franklin Bay, a frozen inlet located in the far north of Canada. This mission constituted the United States’ contribution to the first International Polar Year (1882–1883), the very first scientific program in which 14 nations joined forces to simultaneously establish weather observation stations around the poles. Due to a lack of supplies, the expedition turned into a historic tragedy: trapped by ice in this inhospitable region, only 7 of the 25 crew members survived until their rescue in 1884. From the library of explorer Paul-Émile Victor (1907–1995), founder of the French Polar Expeditions. With his personal bookplate featuring a compass and a purple-inked stamp from the “French Polar Documentation Center—Paul-Émile Victor Missions—French Polar Expeditions.” On the title page, this stamp is crossed out by another red ink stamp reading “canceled.” There is another corner bookplate signed “G. Damour,” featuring a caduceus and a bow, with the motto “amour-travail.” Despite its flaws, this is a period-bound copy with a prestigious provenance.