Le "Francais" au Pole Sud

Journal de l’Expedition Antarctique Francaise, 1903-1905

(The Journal of the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903-1905)

By Jean Charcot

1906 - First Edition, 8vo (11" x 8"), [xvi] xxxviii, 486pp. Photographic front piece of Charcot, 6 maps: 4 full page, one in text and one fold-out, over 300 photographic illustrations (24 full-page), 4 sketches, 8 Appendices, Index. Bound with original wrappers in fine condition, spine with gilt title and gilt decorative motif showing palm wear and checking, half Morocco binding with marbled sides in Near Fine condition — an excellent and attractive binding, pages with fine cut edges, internally fine and complete with no foxing, folds or tears; hinges strong. Written in French. There is no published English translation of this important book apart from short journal articles. — Spence 253; Conrad p. 134; Taurus 54; Rosove 60A1a.

Maps created from Charcot’s two Antarctic expeditions were so precise that they were still being used twenty-five years later by sealers and whalers. Enough scientific data was collected to fill 28 volumes, illustrated with some of the 3000 photographs taken during the expeditions. The Polar historian, Edwin Swift Balch, wrote that Charcot’s explorations "occupy a place in the front rank of the most important Antarctic expeditions. No one has surpassed him and few have equaled him as a leader and as a scientific observer". Robert Falcon Scott referred to Charcot as "the gentleman of the Pole". Charcot continued exploring and recording data in the polar waters until his death in 1936 in a storm-induced shipwreck on the coast of Iceland.