The Zermatt Pocket Book: A Guide-Book to the Pennine Alps, from the Simplon to Arolla.

There are books that document history, and there are books that make it. Conways Zermatt Pocket Book is one such book. Published in 1881 as the twenty-five-year-old Conway's very first book, it became the foundational text of the celebrated Conway and Coolidge Climbers' Guide series the template against which all subsequent Alpine guidebook writing would measure itself. Issued by Edward Stanford of Regent Street, the great geographical publisher of the age, it covers the Pennine Alps from the Simplon to Arolla: the high country that defined the silver age of British alpinism. What transforms this into a truly remarkable copy is the signature to the front: This volume bears the neat ink signature of W. Cecil Slingsby, inscribed at his Yorkshire home, Skipton. Slingsby stands among the most significant figures in the history of British mountaineering. Often referred to as the Father of Norwegian Mountaineering, he was a man of astonishing energy and talent. The first to climb Skagastølstind, Norways most formidable peak, in 1876; a pioneer of ski-mountaineering; and a close companion of Mummery, Collie, and Hastings on some of the most audacious ascents of the time. Slingsby was elected to the Alpine Club in 1880 - a year before this publication appeared - and was actively climbing the terrain Conway describes within this work. The physical form of the book adds to the story. Bound in the practical wallet style, with flexible covers extending to enclose and protect the contents of the volume, this is more an entirely practical book, designed to be taken out onto the ranges. That the contents survive in such fine condition is testament both to the quality of the bindings protection and to the care of its owners across more than a century. The cracking to the fold crease is likely a part of this story: the book has been used as intended, and, perhaps, by Slingsby himself. First edition. London: Edward Stanford, 1881. Small, slim 8vo. Original dark blue leather wallet binding. Gilt titling to cover. Signature to endpaper verso. Near fine. Cover edges worn with a crack along the crease of enclosing fold, binding otherwise sound. Contents fine throughout, excellently preserved. Clean and bright. A fine association copy. Provenance: From the library of Warwick H. Williams. W. Cecil Slingsby's personal copy.…