DESCRIPTION: An arctic whaling classic. Scarce second edition (1823) of this illustrated account of the whaling ship Baffin’s voyage with Captain Scoresby. The main purpose of the voyage was to test a new harpoon design by Scoresby. The voyage took them first to Spitzbergen, along the coast of Greenland, to Iceland and then home.
George Manby accompanied Captain Scoresby on the voyage into the northern Greenland Sea aboard the whaling ship Baffin. Manby creates a vivid picture of Arctic whaling as it was practiced during the early part of the 19th Century. Scoresby invented a harpoon gun and is also remembered for his life-saving apparatus. Numerous woodcuts in the text of whales, narwhal, and other arctic creatures.
With a fine hand-colored folding map "A General Map of the Polar Ice in the Greenland Sea and Track of the Ship Baffin in the Summer of 1821 by G.W. Manby (14" x 10"). Contains 20 uncolored lithographic plates illustrating the voyage. Five plates "Drawn on stone by J.D. Harding" are larger and folded:
- Striking a Whale with Third Harpoon
- A Whale Upsetting a Boat
- Lancing a Whale
- A Bear Attacking A Boat
- A Boat Going on the Tail of a Fish
In 1819 William Scoresby moved to Liverpool from Whitby where he built (1820) and commanded the whaling ship "Baffin". In 1822 Scoresby mapped the East coast of Greenland. The "Baffin" finally sank in 1830 when 19 out of 90 ships in the whaling fleet were lost in bad weather in the Davis Strait. Scoresby's plans, together with this scale model of his ship are in the Whitby Museum, Yorkshire, England. (Internet. 2016.)
Printed for G. and W.B. Whittaker, Ave Maria Lane, London. 225 pages including an appendix illustrated with woodcuts of harpoons and lance heads.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1823
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Greenland
BODY OF WATER: Greenland Sea
CONDITION: Good.
2nd edition. Cover well worn. Scattered foxing. Some minor. A few pages slightly loose but a readable copy throughout. Slight evidence of moisture but no major issue.
COLORING: None
ENGRAVER: J.D. Harding
SIZE: 6
" x
9 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 0
PRICE: $1200
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