How the “Mastiffs” Went to Iceland.

Trollope, Anthony. Introduction by Carol Lansbury. New York: Arno Press, 1981.
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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The Mastiff was a yacht owned by John Burns (Lord Inverclyde) who took a group of men aboard his yacht on a trip to the Faroes and Iceland in 1878. Trollope wrote this story of the voyage and published it privately in the same year. Although hardly Polar, Iceland is certainly an interesting exemplar of the print culture of the North.

A Journey to the North Pole.

Verne, Jules. London & New York: George Routledge, 1875. [Later editions under the title At the North Pole, Or The Adventures of Captain Hatteras. Also known as The English at the North Pole.].
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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Novel about an American proposal to auction all territory north of the 84th parallel. The sale was to take place in Baltimore with all proceeds to be divided among underbidders. The English strongly opposed an American purchase, since “The North Pole belonged to them.” The plan itself was to turn the globe on its axis to melt the Pole and extract the coal, while changing the torrid zones as well; but the calculation of the equation to do it proved faulty and the earth was saved. The satire chiefly involves the French poking fun at the US for its North Pole obsession.

The Journal of Jens Munk 1619-1620.

Munk, Jens. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1980.
  • 1619-20 Danish Expedition to Hudson’s Bay (commanded by Jens Munk on Lamprey and Unicorn).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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Munk led two Danish ships, the Lamprey and Unicorn, to Hudson’s Bay and wintered over at Churchill in 1619-20. Many men including the surgeon died at Churchill, undoubtedly of scurvy.

The Journal of Jacob Roggeveen.

Roggeveen, Jacob. Edited by Andrew Sharp. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970.
  • 1721-22 Dutch West Indies Company Expedition to the South Seas (commanded by Jacob Roggeveen aboard).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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p. 9: Jan Roggeveen (brother?): referred to a book of charts shown by him previously by Jacob in Vere, saying that he had put such a book in Jacob’s chest for the voyage. The charts studied by them no doubt contained representations of islands…, and were mere spots of land separated by vast tracks of ocean….

Memoirs and Travels of Mauritius August, Count de Benyowsky. Consisting of his Military Operations in Poland, His Exile into Kamchatka….

Beniowsky, Moriz August, graf von. In Two Volumes.London: G.G.J. & J. Robinson, 1790.
  • 1768-70 Beniowsky Journey and Exile in Kamchatka.
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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Exciting story of exile in Kamchatka and the conspiracy to escape. [See also August von Kotzebue’s dramatization of this story: Count Benyowsky; Or, the Conspiracy of Kamschatka, a Tragic-Comedy, in Five Acts.Theatre-Royal, Drury-Lane. Translated from the German by R. W. Render. London: New York: Naphtali Judah, 1799.

Arctic Voyages of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, 1858-1879.

Leslie, Alexander. London: Macmillan, 1879.
  • 1872-73 etc. Swedish Arctic Expeditions led by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld.
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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This volume covers all of Nordenskiöld’s polar exploration including the Vega voyage, but is notable for its coverage of the hygiene issues encountered in 1872-73. It should be noted that Adolf Nordenskiöld was an important collector of maps and atlases, and that references to maps and charts occur throughout this volume.

Nordenskiöld’s Voyage Round Asia and Europe. A Popular Account of the North-East Passage of the “Vega,” 1878-80.

Hovgaard, Andreas Peter. Translated from the Danish by H. L. Brækstad. London: Sampson Low, 1882.
  • 1878-80 Swedish Northeast Passage Expedition (Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld aboard Vega).
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p. 192: The life on board the “Vega” was consequently somewhat monotonous, but owing to the anything but pleasant watches in the observatory, the time passed swiftly by. A great deal of our time was occupied with studies of different kinds. Nordenskiöld brought with him an excellent library, consisting of course mostly of books of Arctic travels and scientific works. Every morning a new number of the Gothenburg Commercial and Maritime News, of which we had brought a set of last year’s numbers. Was placed upon the table, and we read again, with the greatest interest, about the war between Russia and Turkey, and discussed other well-known topics and events.

The Voyage of the Vega Round Asia and Europe.

Nordenskiöld, Adolf Erik. Translated by Alexander Leslie. London: Macmillan and Co., 1886.
  • 1878-80 Swedish Northeast Passage Expedition (Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld aboard Vega).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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Adolf Nordenskiöld was a Finnish aristocrat, Finland then being a part of the Russian empire, who led the first expedition through the entire Northeast Passage in 1878-79. He was a dedicated bibliophile who built a magnificent collection of maps and atlases, now at the University of Helsinki Library, and was a published expert on the early history of cartography. As shown in the notes below, he was even able to use the Vega expedition for his collecting needs.

Farthest North.

Nansen, Fridtjof. Jan Krakauer, Series Editor. Introduction by Roland Huntford. New York, Modern Library, 1999.
  • 1893-96 Norwegian North Pole Expedition (Fridthof Nansen aboard Fram).
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On Nansen’s 1893-96 Fram expedition and the first wintering over.

With Nansen in the North, A Record of the Fram Expedition in 1893-96.

Johansen, Hjalmar. New York: New Amsterdam Book Company [n.d., ca. 1897].
  • 1893-96 Norwegian North Pole Expedition (Fridthof Nansen aboard Fram).
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p. 40, Oct 1, 1893, Sunday and their first day of rest: In the forenoon we had some sacred music on the organ, and read books from our well-stocked library.

The First Crossing of Spitzbergen, Being an Account of an Inland Journey of Exploration and Survey… and of an Almost Complete Circumnavigation of the Main Island…. With Contributions by J. W. Gregory, D.Sc. A. Trevor-Battye, and E. J. Garwood.

Conway, Sir William Martin. London: J. M Dent & Co.; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1897.
  • 1896 and 1897 British Exploring Expeditions Crossing Spitzbergen and its Interior (led by Sir William Martin Conway).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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p. 36-37, describing some passengers on this tour boat: There was a crow's-nest to be fitted up. All sorts of people came to say good-bye—consuls, agents, dealers, and relatives or acquaintances of passengers. The deck was crowded. Glasses clinked. Every one was in the way of every one else, but the sun shone brightly and all were gay. In the midst of the shindy, Gregory digested geological papers from various journals, cross-questioned any one that came handy about Spitsbergen birds or the Norwegian vocabulary, and went on piling up information generally. “You read always,” said the French gentleman to him. “Yes,” was the merry reply; “you see I am young and have a lot to learn.” Garwood was also busy. He started from England with some work on hand still requiring a preface. With this he had been labouring in the intervals of sea-sickness, negative developing, baggage overhauling, and the rest, at odd moments during the voyage. The hour appointed for sailing came, but the preface lingered. Furiously the author worked on amongst teacups and the debris of food. At last the work was done. A wild rush on shore, and the precious document was consigned to the post and all the printer's devils.

Andrée’s Story: The Complete Record of his Polar Flight, 1897. From the diaries and journals….

Translated from the Swedish by Edward Adams-Ray. New York: Viking Press, 1960.
  • 1897 Swedish Polar Flight Attempt (commanded by Solomon Andrée).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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In the diaries and journals of the three participants there is little or nothing on the materials they had with them except mention of their logbooks. On the other hand, the following accounts of the discovery of the men’s remains and artifacts show some interesting discoveries.