PHIPPS, Constantine John, Baron Mulgrave (1744-1792). A Voyage towards the North Pole undertaken by His Majesty's Command 1773. London: Bower and Nichols for J. Nourse, 1774.

4to (282 x 222 mm). 15 engraved plates (11 folding, 4 double-page). (Some offsetting of plates, some spotting.) Contemporary calf gilt (some light wear). Provenance: John Waldie (1833-1907), Canadian politician and businessman (bookplate); collector's bookplate, a few pencil marks.

FIRST EDITION, an "important addition to early nautical science in the polar regions... The voyage is perhaps better remembered for the presence of a young Horatio Nelson, as midshipman aboard the Carcase, and his encounter with a polar bear. This is the narrative of some member of the expedition, containing particulars not given in the official account" (Hill). The expedition set out to discover the North-West passage. The ships were floating laboratories for the testing of every new navigational aid and instrument devised; Phipps himself carried a very accurate pocket chronometer by Arnold and employed a large ship's chronometer by Kendal on a Harrison design and another by Arnold. The appendices include descriptions of the various instruments, tables of observations resulting from their use, and comparative tables of results from each instrument, including chronometers, a Dipping Needle, pendulum, barometer, hygrometer, manometer, thermometer, and a sea-water distiller. Hill 1351; NMM 805; Sabin 62572.

PHIPPS, Constantine John, Baron Mulgrave (1744-1792). A Voyage towards the North Pole undertaken by His Majesty's Command 1773. London: Bower and Nichols for J. Nourse, 1774.