British North Greenland Expedition: Report by Expedition Leader on Reconnaissance of Queen Louise Land, 1951.

N. p.: British North Greenland Expedition, 1951. 20 x 32 cm; [3], 44 leaves mimeographed typescript 40 original silver-gelatin photographs, two color folding maps in pocket at rear, and two original prick-through tracings of marks from plane table sheets. Original customs declaration and shipping despatch note to the Danish vice-admiral A.H. Vedel, who is named in the acknowledgements preceding the text. Bound in original plain printed boards with cloth backstrip, faded at edges and stained on upper board. Lower hinge distressed. Text and photographs in fine condition.

Official report of the advance party of the British North Greenland Expedition (1952-54), in which four men made a preliminary reconnaissance of the isolated Northeast coast of the island. The full party of 30 people would create a base camp the following year based on this preliminary exploration. In August of 1951, the R.A.F. Coastal Command flew Simpson and three companions by "flying boat" to the remote coast of Queen Louise Land. The four walked across Strostrommen to discover a vast "snow desert" deemed suitable for landing material to construct a base camp. Simpson writes a lively, informative, and exciting narrative of the long walk across inhospitable terrain. A hand-made volume produced in typed mimeograph with original photographs, the account is extremely rare. Three copies are known to survive; this is the only one in circulation. Simpson went on to write other accounts of the 1952-54 expedition, in the form of official reports to the Admiralty and in the popular volume "North Ice" (London, 1957).