Antarctica Leaves from a Diary kept on Board an Exploring Vessel New Zealand Booklet Series No. 7

31, (1) pp. 16 mo. (14.9 X 11.2 cm.) Original paper backed cloth binding. Decoration illustration and title on the front. Contents have been bound with a tied string. Wrappers are a bit soiled and foxed. Title page a bit soiled as is the inner rear wrapper. 13 black and white illustrations in the text. The text is generally very clean with only minor soiling. A very good copy of a rare item, the only copy we have handled so far. Rosove 131 A1a and Conrad p. 112. Renard 54 and Taurus 44. This very scarce little item was little known until it was reprinted by the Erskine Press in 2015 in a boxed edition with an accompanying booklet and extra reprinted ephemera, (a copy is included with the original publication). Ford was a steward on the National Antarctic Expedition 1901-04. Although short in length, it still is a firsthand account of Scott's Discovery Expedition and published shortly afterwards. The item appears to have been intended as a gift item as there is a dedicated place on the title page to present the item. I assume it also came in some sort of printed envelope. There is a variant binding as well in cream wrappers. Laid in loosely is a short, typed letter from a previous owner.