Bonhams 1793 : RESOLUTE. Voyages in the Arctic Seas from 1821 to 1825, FROM THE LIBRARY ON BOARD THE RESOLUTE, 1831

Voyages in the Arctic Seas from 1821 to 1825, for the Discovery of a North-West Passage to the Pacific Ocean, FROM THE LIBRARY ON BOARD THE RESOLUTE, with contemporary inscription on front free endpaper, wood-engraved illustrations, contemporary sheep, Admiralty blindstamped emblem on upper cover, preserved in solander box with morocco-label "From the Library of the Franklin Search Vessel H.M.S. Resolute", 12mo, C.J.G. & F. Rivington, 1831

Sold for £1,375 inc. premium

Footnotes

A SURVIVOR FROM THE SHIP'S LIBRARY IN THE ARCTIC. The Resolute took part in two of the expeditions sent in search of Sir John Franklin, before its abandonment in the ice with three other ships by Commander Belcher in 1854. The inscription reads: "This book formed a portion of the library of the Resolute, which was abandoned in the Arctic regions & after floating more than 1000 miles, was found by a vessel from New London & brought to the U.S. after 14 months from the period when she was deserted". Rather more famously, the British government ordered two desks to be made from the timbers of the ship; the larger of the two, known as 'the Resolute desk', was presented to President Hayes in 1880, and has been used in the White House by every President except Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Exhibited: Books on Ice: British and American Literature of Polar Exploration, Grolier Club, 2006, curated by David and Deirdre Stam.

Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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