SOUTH: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917.

London: William Heinemann. 1919. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original dark blue cloth with titles in silver gilt to the upper board and spine and an illustration of Shackleton's ship "The Endurance" in silver gilt to the upper board. Illustrated with a colour frontispiece of "The Endurance", numerous black and white photographic plates and in-text maps, and a folding map at the rear. Errata slip inserted at p.1. A very good copy, the binding square, firm and bright with a little rubbing to the spine and the odd minor mark to the boards. The contents browned (as is usual, due to the inferior paper stock used in this first printing following the First World War), with scattered foxing to page edges, a contemporary previous owner's signature to the front free endpaper ("K. Astley"[?]), and a 5cm tear to the margin of the map (not affecting the map itself), are otherwise in good order. An attractive copy, much better than is usually encountered. Shackleton's classic account of the Endurance expedition - the most inspiring voyage of the Heroic period of Antarctic exploration. Shackleton's party had hoped to cross the continent via the South Pole, although ran into problems from the outset, culminating in their being trapped and then crushed in the ice, loosing the Endurance to the Weddell Sea. After enduring months in the ice, the party made the perilous journey to the inhospitable Elephant Island, followed by an 800 mile open boat journey to South Georgia in order to secure rescue. Shackleton's incredible leadership ensured, miraculously, that every single member of the crew survived, and his subsequent account helped to make the expedition the stuff of legend. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.