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Verne, Jules. Field of Ice. London and New York: Routledge, 1875. [FIRST U. K. EDITION; Variant B, Part 2](200 x 130 mm) pp. 269 + 16 p of adverts. Frontispiece, title page vignette, 126 illustrations, both full-page engravings and embedded within the text, by Edouard Riou. Bound in publisher's red cloth with black and gilt vingette and deocrated borders. Spine decorated with cliff scene vingette, indicating first U. K. Edition. Spine peeling, corners bumped, cocked, but interior very clean. Overall FAIR condition. About the Edition Attribution: Overarchingly known as the Journey and Adventures of Captain Hatteras (Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras), the publication history of the English translation Captain Hatteras' adventures is an adventure in and of itself. Routledge, the British publisher, split the book into two parts; the first part was issued under several titles (Journey to the North Pole; the English at the North Pole), both of which used the same cover design and are both dated 1875, though the publication date is 1874. This version of The Field of Ice that we're looking at the second part of Variant B. And to make it more complicated Variant A and B, parts 1 and 2 appear in multiple shades of publisher's cloth bindings. Andrew Nash's invaluable, dynamic bibliography provides photos and disambiguation of these variants.About Captain Hatteras' Journeys: Richard Shandon and Dr. Clawbonny both receive letters from an unknown party inviting them to accompany an expedition, the destination unknown. Shandon as the chief officer is also empowered to assemble the crew and pay for the construction of the ship for this adventure, the Forward. The completed ship receives its orders, to go north towards Melville Bay. The ship heads north, but as of yet the Captain has not made his appearance. Eventually a member of the crew reveals himself to be Captain John Hatteras. And his goal is for their British crew to be the first to reach the North Pole. When things don't go as Hatteras thought they would, the crew (including Shandon) mutinies and destroys the ship. This occurs while Hatteras and others are attempting to find supplies that might have been left behind by a previous expedition; instead they only find the one survivor of an American expedition. Finding the ship destroyed upon their return, Hatteras, Clawbonny and remaining crew makes a boat out of the ships remains and continue in their attempt to reach the pole.
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