Little America; Aerial Exploration in the Antarctic the Flight to the South Pole

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1930. First edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good+. Large 8vo. [6], vii-xvi, 1-422, [2] pp. Blue cloth with gold lettering on the front board and spine; navy topstain. Photographs on the endpapers and pastedowns. Price of $5.00 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Title page printed in orange and black. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Byrd and with four maps, two of which fold out, and with twenty-eight plates, black and white photographs of Byrd's Antarctic expedition and the crew he took with him, their gear, and their animal companions. Inscribed by Byrd on the half-title page. With a newspaper article entitled "Byrd Receives Plane He'll Fly Over Antarctic", and with an advertisement from G.P. Putnam's Sons about a letter-writing contest they hosted in which readers could submit essays on the value to the civilized world of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. The first prize was $250.00 in cash and a personalized, inscribed copy of Byrd's Little America. ANB, Vincent P. Norris, "Byrd, Richard Evelyn". Richard Byrd was a geologist and explorer of the Arctic regions. After securing funding in the late twenties he journeyed to Antarctica, arriving at the Bay of Whales in December of 1928. He brought ships, aircrafts, ninety-four dogs, and two years' worth of supplies. Forty-two men set out with Byrd. They built the camp, Little America, on the Ross Ice Shelf, where the party stayed during the winter while conducting expeditions to examine the mineral deposits of the region, and to map 150,000 miles of what was then new territory. At the end of 1929, accompanied by three other men, Byrd flew to the South Pole. For this he was awarded the Navy Cross and promoted to Rear Admiral. A few years later, Byrd would return to the Antarctic for another, longer expedition. It is difficult to find signed copies of the trade edition in jacket, which makes this an exceptional copy. A Near Fine book with a small separation between the backstrip and the textblock; jacket is Good or better with general edge wear including a closed tear on the front panel.