The Franklin Expedition from First to Last.

King, Richard. London: John Churchill, 1855.
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
 Preview 

King was among the most ascerbic critics of most explorers other than himself, carrying his battles through the press and elsewhere. His expedition was ???

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).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
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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 U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin: A Personal Memoir

Kane, Elisha Kent. New York: Harper, 1854.
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
 Preview 

Kane was surgeon aboard the Advance, under the command of Edwin De Haven. The search did find the three graves at Beechey Island, but DeHaven felt the voyage to be ineffectual. Kane went on to command the second Grinnell expedition in 1853.

A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World… Performed in the Years 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, in the Discovery Sloop of War, and Armed Tender Chatham.

Vancouver, George, Captain. A New Edition… in Six Volumes. (London: John Stockdale, 1801).
  • 1791-95 English Exploring Expedition to North Pacific and Round the World (George Vancouver commanding aboard Discovery with Chatham).
  • Global Circumnavigations and Cape Horn Transits.
  • Maritime Reading
 Preview 

Heald Sale Catalog of December 2017 lists this copy: "One of the most important [voyages] ever made in the interests of geographical knowledge" (Hill). This copy from the on-board library of the USS John Hancock during its mid-19th century exploration of the Pacific.”

A Voyage Round the World by the Way of the Great South Sea, performed in the Years 1719, 20, 21, 22, in the Speedwell of London….

Shelvocke, George. London: Printed for J. Senex, 1726.
  • 1719-22 English Voyage around the World in War with Spanish Crown (George Shelvocke aboard Speedwell and other ships).
  • Global Circumnavigations and Cape Horn Transits.
  • Maritime Reading
 Preview 

p. 14-15: But having read in Frezier’s Voyage of the Island of St. Catherines, on the coast of Brazil, in the Latitude of 27, 30. So. which according to his account, afforded every thing we stood in need of, even without any expense, or, at least, in exchange for salt, which is very valuable there; and this being confirmed to me by one of my Officers…it was indisputably advisable to put in there….

The Voyage of the ‘Fox’ in the Arctic Seas. A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and His Companions.

McClintock, Frederick M. With maps and illustrations. (Philadelphia: J. T. Lloyd, 1860).
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
 Preview 

Two reading-related matters stand out in this account: the dependence on whalers for annual delivery of newspapers and other reading (see p. 111, 119), and the availability of an arctic library aboard the Fox, provided by the Admiralty, allowing M’Clintock to make regular references to past occurrences in polar exploration, including specific dates and places, and to verify later native accounts.

Race to the End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole.

MacPhee, Ross D. E. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 2010.
  • 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

A straightforward and well-written recounting of the Terra Nova expedition, intended as a companion volume to the AMNH’s 2010 centenary exhibition on Scott and Amundsen’s 1910 expeditions. MacPhee is a moderate critic of Scott’s deficiencies and Amundsen’s megalomania.

Strong Men South.

Menster, William J. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1949.
  • 1946-48 US Operation Highjump, Byrd’s Fourth Expedition to Little America (aboard USS Mount Olympus).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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A charming if a bit sanctimonious account of Operation Highjump by the chaplain of that 1947 expedition aboard USS Mount Olympus.

The Cruise of the Florence; Or, Extracts from the Journal of the Preliminary Arctic Expedition of 1877-78.

Tyson, George E. Edited by Captain H. W. Howgate, U.S.A. Washington, DC: James J. Chapman, 1879.
  • 1877-78 US Preliminary Arctic Expedition for IPY 1881-84 (led by Howard Howgate).
  • Arctic Reading: United States
 Preview 

This expedition had three stated objectives, preparation for a colony at Lady Franklin Bay, collection of scientific data, and commercial whaling (p. 8-9). Despite Howgate’s description of books aboard Florence (see below), there are no references to reading in Tyson’s abstracts, though he has an engaging and easy-going style.

The Cruise of the ‘Antarctic’ to the South Polar Regions.

Bull, Henrik Johan. London, New York: Edward Arnold, 1896.
  • 1893-95 Norwegian Whaling Expedition (Henrik Bull aboard Antarctic).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

Essentially a Norwegian/English whaling and sealing expedition in which the crew suffered no major deprivations or hardships other than hurricanes around the Kerguélens where the ship chiefly spent the ‘summer’ of 1893-94 before returning to Melbourne. The first part of the expedition made catches of £3000 pounds in value, but an intermediate voyage during the winter to the Campbell Islands almost wrecked the ship [Bull was back in Australia] and repairs ate up all the profits.

Siberia in Europe: A Visit to the Valley of the Petchora in North-East Europe.

Seebohm, Henry. London: John Murray, 1880.
  • Arctic Reading: Russia
 Preview 

p. 3-4: My friend Harvie-Brown had been collecting information about the river Petchora for some time, and it was finally arranged that we should spend the summer of 1875 there together. We were under the impression that, ornithologically speaking, it was virgin ground, but in this we afterwards discovered that we were mistaken. So far as we were able to ascertain, no Englishman had travelled from Archangel to the Petchora for 250 years. In that curious old book called ‘Purchas his Pilgrimes,’ published in 1625, may be found the narrative of divers merchants and mariners who visited this river between the years 1611 and 1615 for the purpose of establishing a trade there in furs and skins, especially beaver, for which Ust-Zylma on the Petchora was at that time celebrated.