Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River, and Along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean, in the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835

London: John Murray, 1836. x,(2),663 pp. Octavo. Original diced grey cloth with blind decoration on the boards. Gilt title on spine. Spine very lightly faded as usual. Corners bumped and have been professionally renewed. Coated yellow endpapers. Untrimmed. 16 plates and large folding map at the end. Plates have a small amount of foxing otherwise the book is very clean. Very scarce in this condition. Contemporary signature on top of title page. Arctic Biblio. 851; Streeter 3705. Back, who had been with Franklin on both of his overland expeditions, was here sent out to locate John Ross, unreported after three winters in the Arctic. He traveled overland to Great Slave Lake, where he received news of Ross' return to England; Back however continued on, descending the Fish (now Back) River then unexplored, to the Arctic Ocean. This copy belonged to Henry Wemyss Feilden the naturalist that accompanied the Nares Expedition 1874/75 on the Alert. In 1895 and 1897, accompanying Henry J. Pearson, Feilden participated in expeditions to Novaya Zemlya, Kolguyev, Spitsbergen, Lapland and the Kara Sea. The book is nicely signed the top of the title page in his usual purple ink. This very attractive copy of the Back has the noble provenance to have been owned by a fellow early arctic explorer. 1836