Rare books from JP MOUNTAIN BOOKS

London: George Philip & Son, 1891. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. First UK Edition translated from the German edition. Original green cloth binding with decorated front cover & spine, gilt lettering front & spine, original green coated end pages. The book has tissue-repaired inside hinges, strong binding and stable, former owner bookplate on the front pastedown, a bookstore stamp on upper edge of the verso of the FFEP along with seller's mark in pencil in the same area, no other marks or writing on any pages, a little fore-edge foxing but no foxing on page faces, light cover wear with some surface rubbing at the corners, generally clean. Complete with all maps and illustrations. The plates with the original photos are clean with no darkening/browning of the margins that is sometimes found with this book. The book measures 26cm tall x 18cm and has 404pp, 3 colored folding maps, colored frontispiece, 8 mounted b/w photos, 12 illustrated plates, 19 text illustrations, 11… Read More

Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1902. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. FIRST PRINTING of First Edition. Original green cloth with gilt lettering spine, top edge gilt. Splendid condition with clean covers & spine, no splitting or cracking of cloth, bright gilt lettering, tight binding, no previous owner marks or writing on any pages, hinges fine and intact (not cracked), minor fore-edge & EP foxing, no foxing on inside pages, pages bright and clean. Book measures 227mm tall x 144mm, and has 315 pages, 18 b/w photos & sketches, 3 coloured folding maps, bibliography, index. One of the most important books in the climbing literature. This covers in detail the first real attempt to climb an 8000er, Nanga Parbat, where Mummery & his partners perished. Also considerable Canadian Rockies content (discovery & exploration of Columbia Icefield), climbing in Norway, Skye, classic firsts in the Chamonix Aiguilles with Mummery, etc.

London: Edward Arnold, 1905. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. First Printing of First Edition in original binding of blue cloth, gilt lettering cover & spine, gilt decoration front cover, edges untrimmed, original untinted EPs. Clean covers, bright gilt on front cover & spine, some rubbing at tips of corners but nothing too pronounced, solid binding in original endpapers, some foxing to end-pages otherwise no foxing, clean pages, previous owner name dated 1917 on front pastedown otherwise no previous owner marks or writing on any pages, better than average condition for this book. The book measures 231mm tall x 148mm, and has 324 pages, 57 b/w photos, 2 folding maps, appendix, index. PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL BOOK BEING OFFERED.

London: Rowland Ward, Limited, 1904. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Original reddish brown cloth, gilt lettering front & spine, zebra patterned EPs. WITH publisher's rare original printed dust jacket. INSCRIBED & SIGNED by the author on the verso of the FFEP and with author's inscription on the short-title page. The copy in the Brooke-Hitchings collection of books in exceptional condition did not have the dust jacket and was not signed. The book offered here is in very good condition with faint thin streak on front cover (= loss of some sheen but no staining), very slight rubbing bottom edges covers & tips corners, village/county blindstamp on FFEP, other than author's inscriptions and signature there are no owner marks or writing on any pages, solid binding, no foxing, complete with all plates and fold-outs. The rare dust jacket has tiny loss lower rear flap corner, tiny loss lower spine corner, no tears, some minor curling at spine ends, no… Read More

Milano: Garzotti, 1954. First Edition . Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. FIRST PRINTING of the First Edition. With SIGNED postcard showing the 1954 team at the K2 Base Camp. The card is hand-signed (not printed or reproduced, ie, the signatures are original) by Walter Bonatti, Achille Compagnoni, Lino Lacedelli, Pino Gallotti, Gino Solda, Guido Pagani, Cirillo Floreanini, Ubaldo Rey, Erich Abram, Ugo Angelino, and Sergio Viotto. It is dated 20 October 1954, with the stamps being cancelled on the same date. Signed by 11 of the 14 Italian members of the climbing team. Lacking the signatures of Ardito Desio (he did not sign much), Mario Fantin, and Mario Puchoz (who died on the mountain). This is the first printing of the first Italian edition of Ascent Of K2 (or Victory Over K2). Same size as the english language editions but much better illustrated having more than twice the number of photo plates, color photos not in english editions, a folding map & 3 folding photos not in the english editions..… Read More

London: Constable & Company, 1909. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 1st Printing FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition. One of the least common of the Workman books and one of their best expeditions. High quality rebinding in red morocco leather spine and corners with gilt borders, pebbled cloth boards, five raised bands on spine, gilt lettering spine with gilt rules, top edge gilt, text block appears to be untrimmed. The book is in fine condition, from the extensive collection of a famous explorer with his bookplate on the front pastedown, no other previous owner marks or writing on any pages, NOT ex-library, minor foxing on a few pages but generally very bright pages (brighter than usual for this book), tight binding. COMPLETE with all plates, map, and pages. The book measures 244mm tall x 172mm, and has 204 pages, colorized frontispiece + 3 color plates, 90 b/w (tinted blue or brown) plates (4 are double-page), folding color map, index. THE PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM BEING OFFERED.

New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1960. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. FIRST PRINTING of First USA Edition SIGNED by Anderl Heckmair and Heinrich Harrer on the short-title page. This signed first edition was published by E.P. Dutton in New York in 1960. Complete with all plates and pages. Copies of the the first edition (and any edition) signed by both Harrer and Heckmair, the climbing team of the first ascent, are quite uncommon. Vorg and Kasparek were both killed years prior to the publication of this book. Original blue covers with silver lettering spine. The book has nice clean covers, bright gilt, no previous owner writing or marks on any pages (other than the signatures of Heckmair and Harrer), light sunning to cover edges (one spot of strong fading top rear cover where small tear in DJ let light through), tight binding, tanning for fore-edges but page faces not tanned or browned, no foxing, small 1cm brown spot on… Read More

New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1905. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 1905 FIRST PRINTING of First USA Edition. Original dark navy cloth, gilt lettering cover & spine, gilt on top edge of text block, bottom & fore-edge of text block untrimmed as issued. Much better than average condition example of this important, scarce book. This example is from the collection of Prof. Larry Swan who was himself an explorer/pioneer climber in the Himalaya. Swan was a member of the 1954 USA expedition that attempted to climb Makalu. A biologist and polymath, he contributed several scientific papers to the study of Himalayan natural history. The book has clean covers with normal slight darkening to spine, Swan's name and address are penned on the corner of the FFEP and a penned title in Swan's hand is on the blank verso of the folding rear map titling it "Central Tian Shan Merzbacher" -- otherwise, there are no previous owner's names/marks or writing on… Read More

London: Constable And Company Ltd, 1912. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition. TWO volume complete set with all plates, all maps, all panoramas. Volume One: The main text/photo volume is in original green cloth with gilt lettering spine, top edge gilt. The volume is complete with all pages and plates, no repairs or restorations, no previous owner marks or writing on any pages, the gilt lettering on the spine has dulled such that it almost matches the color of the cloth, slight sunning to spine, tiny bump at lower outside corner front cover, solid binding, some minor foxing opposite plates with tissue guards, other pages have no foxing, plates have no foxing.. Better than average condition for this big, heavy book. The panorama/map volume, Volume Two: original green cloth, gilt lettering spine. The spine lettering below the title appears to be lacking, usual wrinkling to spine cloth, slight partial crease mark fromt cover (hard to see), former owner… Read More

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1917. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. FIRST PRINTING of First Edition. ORIGINAL tan cloth covers with gilt lettering spine, black lettering front cover, color decoration lower front cover. The book measures 235mm tall x 160mm, and has 296 pages, 141 sepia photos (brown & aqua tinted), 3 folding color maps, index. CONDITION: Superior collectible condition. Probably re-sewn and recased with new endpapers, though such work appears to have been executed long ago (not recent). Nearly all copies of the first edition require sewing since the original binding was bound with glue that deteriorated over time. The binding is now properly restored and completely stable. This copy is from the collection of Anders Bolinder with his distinctive bookplate on the front pastedown. Bolinder was a Swedish-Swiss mountaineer who chronicled mountaineering expeditions worldwide and also amassed a gigantic collection of rare mountaineering books. There is also a… Read More

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1953. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. TRUE COLLECTOR'S ITEM. --- FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition -- NOT a later printing. TENZING signature present. SIGNED by "Ed Hillary" and Inscribed and SIGNED by John Hunt "In happy recollection of earlier associations. John Hunt" on the short-title page. Also SIGNED by "George Lowe" and by "George Band" on the short-title page. All of the latter were members of the first ascent team. Also SIGNED by Reinhold Messner (achieved first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen and made first true solo ascent of Everest...still not repeated), Krzysztof Wielicki (achieved first winter ascent of Everest in the heart of winter), Junko Tabei (first woman to reach the top of Everest and a really good climber with ascents worldwide), Babu Chiri Sherpa (first and only person to spend almost one day, 21 hours, atop Everest and the ONLY to live to tell the story --… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 1853 FIRST PRINTING of First Edition. Original ribbed brown percaline cloth with gilt decoration front, debossed borders front, gilt lettering spine with debossed rules, debossed decoration and borders rear (mirroring the front but without gilt), pale yellow EPs (possibly original, but seemingly too thick to be original compared to similar EPs from the period of publication). Rare book and especially rare in the original covers which tend to break down easily with age, the percaline covering becoming very brittle when it dries with age. This example has had the original spine relaid almost seamlessly and had similar very matched to original material restorations at the corner tips. There is cracking at the outside hinges but the hinges are strong and nowhere close to failing. The inside hinges are not cracked and are especially strong. The binding is sound without cracking or looseness. Complete with all… Read More

London: Elek Books, 1955. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. 1955 FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition. Original teal cloth with gilt lettering spine. SIGNED by Achille Compangnoni and by Lino Lacedelli on their summit portrait photos opposite page 225. Lacedelli and Compagnoni were the first two people to attain the summit of K2. The book is in clean, unfaded condition with no rubbing, old owner name penned to top of blank FFEP otherwise no writing or marks on any pages (other than the signatures of Lacedelli and Compagnoni), no foxing, tight binding. The original dust jacket has the usual light soiling on the white rear panel, flecking and crinkling at spine ends, tiny 2mm loss top rear spine corner, 1cm tear along top front spine crease, original printed price still present on front flap corner, The book measures 226mm tall x 144mm, and has 239 pages, 63 b/w photos (on 24 plates), 3 maps, 1 chart. PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL BOOK… Read More

London: John Murray, 1871. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. Edward Whymper. 1871 FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition. Original green cloth, gilt lettering spine, gilt pattern decorated spine. Possibly renewed black coated EPs since they seem thicker than usual, but definitely done at an early time (if not by the publisher) since there is a bookplate on the front pastedown with a note on it indicating that the owner died in 1911. Also, the white side of the fly leaves show usual signs of aging with some edge browning. Regardless, the EPs have done the job of keeping the book soundly together (no cracking or tears). First editions of this book are notorious for having the EPs break and the outside hinge cracking/tearing apart, necessitating relaying of the spine cloth. This example has no external restorations which is very uncommon for first printings of this book. The covers are bright and clean, rubbed corner tips, tiny rub spots spine ends, solid binding, no significant… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 1914 FIRST PRINTING of First Edition. WITH card SIGNED and dated March 14, 1914 by Stuck (one month after publication of the book). Original green cloth, gilt lettering cover & spine, grey & white decoration front cover of climber on mountain. Cleaner and brighter than usual, light rubbing to tips of cover corners, no previous owner marks or writing, no foxing, no foxing, some browning to EPs and edges of text block, solid binding, folding map has a little crinkling do to improper folding but no tears. Overall better than average condition for this book. Stuck handwritten, dated signature is on thick card headed with "The Graduate Club. New Haven Connecticut" where Stuck likely gave a lecture. The signature and writing are very strong in black ink written with a fountain pen. Stuck's signature is very uncommon. We have encountered only 3 other examples in over 40 years of… Read More