Beschreibung:

O'REILLY, Bernard. Greenland, the Adjacent Seas, and the North-west Passage to the Pacific Ocean: Illustrated in a Voyage to Davis's Strait, During the Summer of 1817 . London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, 1818. The first edition . O’Reilly claims in his preface that he made his observations as a surgeon aboard a whaling ship; however, he was censured by his contemporaries for plagiarizing other accounts, including that of Sir C.L. Giesecke, (see Quarterly review , Apr. 1818, among others). O’Reilly was also criticized for his choice to publish in expensive quarto format, instead of using a more democratic, smaller format. Regardless, the work is well-illustrated and contains informative chapters on Greenland’s history, zoology, and native inhabitants. Arctic Bib. 12852; Hill 1263; Holland p. 181; Sabin 57576; TPL 1125. Quarto (272 x 220mm). 18 plates, frontispiece map and 2 folding maps (frontispiece rehinged with loss to binding instruction; tissue guards present except one, some foxing to title and frontispiece). Modern blue half cloth. Provenance : Long Island Historical Society (inkstamp on title) – High Latitude, Bainbridge Island.