Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2019 Issue

The John Bockstoce Arctic Collection from Patrick McGahern Books

The John Bockstoce Arctic Collection.

Patrick McGahern Books has issued their second catalogue of Books from the Library of John Bockstoce - Part Two. The Arctic. John Bockstoce is an Arctic expert, author of several books, and one who has made numerous sailing trips to the far north. This includes trips to the legendary Northwest Passage, the sea route north of the Canadian mainland between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Unfortunately, it has proven too shallow and frozen too much of the year to be a practical shipping lane, but with climate change, who knows? In July, we reviewed Part One of his collection. Here are some more of his books.

 

In the West, we are more familiar with the countless attempts to find a Northwest Passage, unsuccessful for centuries. However, attempts were also being made to find an eastern route, that is, one that reached the Pacific by sailing north of Russia. This one proved equally treacherous. Item 3 is A True Description of Three Voyages By the North-East Towards Cathay and China, undertaken by the Dutch in the Years 1594, 1595, and 1596. This is an account of three voyages headed by Willem Barents (or Barentsz). The expectation was that the salty sea water would keep a passageway open through winter, but that underestimated the intensity of the cold. The first two times, Barents reached Novaya Zemlya, but was turned back by ice. On the third trip, Barents discovered Spitsbergen and managed to round Novaya Zemlya, but didn't get much farther. He attempted to return, only to be trapped in ice. It turned into a grueling wintering over, unbearably cold temperatures in a cabin they constructed, waiting for summer. When it finally came, their boat remained trapped and they had to construct a pair of open boats to get back to civilization. Several crewmen, including Barents, died along the way. The author of this book, Gerrit de Veer, understood the situation well. He was the carpenter on the second and third voyages and kept a diary. Originally published in Dutch in 1598 and translated to English in 1609, this edition was published in 1853 by the Hakluyt Society. Priced at CAN $750 (Canadian dollars, or approximately $564 in U.S. dollars).

 

This voyage of exploration was better than a great many. No, nothing was achieved, but then again, no one froze or starved to death either. There were no casualties. Item 50 is L'Expedition Au Pole Nord (the expedition to the North Pole) by Gustave Lambert. Published in 1868, it might have been a description of the French journey to the North Pole, only it never happened. Lambert describes polar exploration in general and opinions of how to reach the North Pole, which was still 40 years away. Lambert suggested a route via the Bering Strait, the open sea between Alaska and Russia. However, this French journey was never undertaken. CAN $250 (US $184).

 

Ultimately, the French proved smarter than the Americans by abandoning this route. The Americans, headed up by naval officer George Washington De Long, attempted to reach the North Pole via the Bering Strait. The theory was that relatively warm water flowed up from the strait most of the way to the pole, allowing for a fairly short trip from boat to pole. It didn't turn out that way. Instead, De Long's ship became entrapped in ice north of Siberia. It stayed that way for 19 months when the sea ice finally crushed it. The 33 men were forced to abandon ship. They dragged three small boats south until hitting open water, then made a run for Siberia. Unfortunately, stormy weather arose and the three boats were separated. One disappeared and was never heard from again. Another made it to the coast where the men quickly found rescue. The third, including De Long, made it to the coast, but not close to anyone. Two of the men took off on foot to seek rescue while the others waited behind. Cold and half-starved, the two finally made it to civilization. However, it was already fall and attempts to find the others were unsuccessful. Further attempts had to wait until spring, and when the remaining 11 were located, they were already dead from cold and starvation. The title of De Long's account is The Voyage of the Jeannette. The Ship and Ice Journals of George W. DeLong...commander of the Polar Expedition of 1879-1881. Edited by his wife, Emma De Long, published in 1883. It is based on Mr. De Long's journals and accounts of the survivors, with Mrs. De Long standing in for her husband for obvious reasons. Item 14. CAN $900 (US $677).

 

The French journey to the North Pole may not be the only one that never happened. Frederick Cook's alleged ascent to the pole is deeply questioned. In fact, few people believe him any more. If true, he would have been the first to reach the North Pole, ahead of Robert Peary (whose claim now is also doubted by some). Cook's account of his allegedly reaching the pole is described in his book, published in 1911, My Attainment of the Pole: Being the Record of the Expedition that First Reached the Boreal Center, 1907-1909. With the Final Summary of the Polar Controversy. Cook's records of his trip were incomplete, and the stories of his two Inuit companions sometimes conflicting. It did little to restore Cook's reputation for truthfulness that he was later convicted and imprisoned for fraud relating to stocks. However, in his defense, Cook had a great admirer in Roald Amundsen, unquestionably the first to reach the South Pole, and possibly the North Pole if both Cook and Peary were faking it. There was no question of Cook's bravery and Amundsen believed Cook had saved his life during the Belgian Antarctic Expedition years earlier. Item 12. CAN $200 (US $150).

 

William Parry was one of the great Arctic explorers and one of the more successful in searching for the Northwest Passage. In 1819, he headed for the Arctic, navigating his way through icy waters and the islands north of the Canadian mainland. It was a dangerous journey through the ice, but by the end of September, he had made it to (and discovered) Melville Island. It was the farthest west through the Canadian Arctic anyone had yet traveled, but it was as far as they could go. The sea was freezing, so they pulled into what they called "Winter Harbour" on the island and waited for the ice to melt. It was a long wait. Meanwhile, the weather got colder and the sun disappeared, ushering in months of darkness. The men could have gone crazy during the long cold night, but Parry was a smart leader. He organized activities to keep them busy, including putting on plays and publishing a newspaper. That newspaper was called The North Georgia Gazette. It was published from November 1, 1819 to March 20, 1820. It is unclear whether it was originally printed on board or distributed as a manuscript and printed on return to London. Item 66 is a copy of The North Georgia Gazette, and Winter Chronicle, published in London in 1821. The ice finally cleared enough for Parry to sail ten months later, on August 1, 1820. They proceeded even farther west before turning around and heading home before being frozen in again. CAN $800 (US $589).

 

Patrick McGahern Books may be reached at 613-230-2277 or books@mcgahernbooks.ca. Their website is www.mcgahernbooks.ca.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions