MOSS, Edward Lawton (1843-1880). Shores of the Polar Sea. A Narrative of the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6. London: Marcus Ward & Co., 1878.

Folio (480 x 337 mm). Title printed in red and black. Color-printed route map, 16 chromolithographed plates mounted on card with captioned overleaves, numerous in-text woodcut illustrations. Publisher's blue cloth blocked in gilt and black, edges gilt (rebacked preserving original spine, minor wear to extremities). Provenance: Collector's bookplate, a few pencil marks.

FIRST EDITION. "Moss was a naval surgeon on Nares' flagship, Alert, but also served as artist for the expedition, producing this sumptuous volume two years after the expedition returned. Although his preface disclaims a narrative intent for the book and places his emphasis on pictorial efforts, the book still provides a substantial and engaging account of the Nares expedition (1875-76)" (Books on Ice 4.7). Nares' expedition in the H.M.S. Alert and H.M.S. Discovery was meant to reach the North Pole; though they were unsuccessful, Nares was the first to sail through the channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland (now called the Nares Strait). The ships wintered at the northeast corner of Ellesmere Island; from there, a sledge party reached the most northerly latitude to date (83° 20' 26"N). Not in Arctic Bibliography.