Being the Story of the ‘Alabama’ Expedition, 1909 – 1912

By Mikkelsen, Captain Ejnar

New York: George H. Doran, Printed in Great Britian. 1913. First Edition. Sm4to – 25.1 cm. (xviii), 400 pp., Index. Illustrated with 111 photographic images and large fold-out map “Showing the Route of Capt. Ejnar Mikkelsen’s Expedition 1909-1912”. Publisher’s green cloth with ruled border, stamped in bright silver foil with title and Arctic scene on front board, minimal beginning wear at extremities of cloth, title in bright silver on spine, publisher’s colophon embossed on rear board, frontis piece of Mikkelsen with tissue guard. A Near Fine copy with no inscriptions and strong hinges; a clean and complete copy. Arctic Bibliography 11428.

The first person account of the ‘Alabama’ Expedition, 1909-1912 lead by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen. The principle objective of this expedition was to trace two of the lost members, Mylius-Erichsen and Hoeg Hagen, of the ‘Danmark’ expedition, 1906-1908, of if possible, to recover their records and collections. Observations, surveys and sledge journeys were to be made while a few members undertook the search. The expedition was financed largely through the Danish government and traveled aboard the motor sloop ‘Alabama’. This is a well-written and extensively illustrated account of a three-year long expedition responsible for charting much of the east coast of Arctic Greenland. The crew was small and the ‘Alabama’, a small ship would eventually be broken down for its wood. Mikkelsen set out on this grueling three-year journey which ultimately proved to be a testament to human survival and endurance. The book is a very good read and a compelling account of endurance, survival, Eskimo culture and Arctic geology in Greenland.

$375.00 -