Report on the Geological Collections Made During the Voyage of the "QUEST" on the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition to the South Atlantic and Wedell Sea in 1921-22.
London: Printed by Order of the Trustees of The British Museum, 1930. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo (tall). Near Fine. Item #015788
British Museum (Natural History) Series. Burgundy cloth with publisher monogram on upper front cover, gilt lettered spine, xii, 161pp. Frontispiece, with view of Gough Island, and two plates, the first showing Dodoxylon, a fossil wood from South Georgia, and a second plate illustrating the Seismology of St. Paul's Rocks. With several in-text topographical maps. Light wear on boards, some bruising on spine ends, else near fine. The Natural History collections in the British Museum were presented by John Quiller Rowett on behalf of the Expedition. The collected reports, and scientific results, were previously published in the Geographical Journal and The Ibis, are published for the first time in one volume. Financed by his schoolfriend John QUiller Rowett, The Shackleton-Rowett Expedition (1921-22) would be Shackleton's last Antarctic project in the golden age of arctic exploration. The expedition ship, Quest, a converted sealing ship, proved to be too small for the task. After taking ill, Shackleton passed away onboard. His last diary entry reads: "The old smell of dead whale permeates everything", he wrote. "It is a strange and curious place ... A wonderful evening. In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover, gem like above the bay." The expedition was taken over by Frank Wild. After the findings of Quest, there would be no other explorations into the arctic region of seven years.
Price (CAD): $425.00