Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River, and along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835 by Back, Captain George (1796-1878) - 1836

Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A. Hart, 1836. First Edition, First Printing. [American]. Very Good/No Dust Jacket.

Red cloth, spine lettered in gilt. 9.5 inches tall; 456 pp. Without the four page publisher's ads at the front. Illustrated with folding frontispiece map.  First U.S. Edition. Ex-library (Bowdoin College, withdrawn bookplate), and pencil marks on the rear paste-down are the only markings.  Moderate wear to cloth, spine sunned; foxing, repairs to map; Clean text with occasional margin spotting.. The First American edition of Back's overland expedition narrative from Montreal to the central Arctic, aimed at aiding the second Ross expedition members, received acclaim from Field as a crucial resource-equivalent to Franklin's work-for comprehending the indigenous peoples of the North. During its publication, "The Quarterly Review" lauded its literary style as surpassing any prior accounts on the subject.

Notably, the edition's map is a smaller segment derived from the original map featured in the first London edition released in the same year.

Back covered over 7500 miles, 1200 of which were previously unknown territory. His narrative holds literary esteem and is "full of details about the Cree, Chippewa, Coppermine Indians, and other tribes, upon whom members of the exhibition were obliged to depend during a terrible winter" [Hill] 

Back was commissioned to complete the survey of the coast between Prince Regent's Inlet and Turnagain Point but the Terror was beset by ice for nearly a year (August 1837- July 1837), drifting in the pack off northeast Southampton Island.

Ref: Field 65; Sabin 2613; Wagner-Camp 58b:3.