Report of Winfield S. Schley, Commander, U.S. Navy, Commanding the Greely Relief Expedition of 1884
Washington DC: GPO, 1887. First edition. Hardcover. 75p + many ills. (halftone photos and line cuts after photos) + 2 maps. No jacket, as issued. Fair (shaken, covers worn and rubbed). Item #30852
In 1881-1883 Lieut. Adolphus W. Greely and his men made four ill-fated attempts to set up a meteorological observation station in the Canadian Arctic. They were tragically stranded over the winter of 1883-84; in June 1884 Commander Schley and his relief party were able to rescue the few survivors and retrieve most of the dead. This official report documents in great detail the outfitting of the rescue ships, their journey northward, the discovery of the camp, the medical treatment and funeral services given, and the return home. Of interest here for the many plates, which are clearly based on photographs. (The list of crew members doesn't name a photographer.) Most of the plates are line cuts engraved by Moss Engraving Company. Several, such as "Belles of Upernavik" and some portraits, are halftones of line cuts. The plates show that interesting and typical flattened effect of instantaneous photos turned into line illustrations. Despite the binding condition, the plates are very good. From the estate of a prominent collector of early photographic reproduction.
Price: $40.00