Mawson, Sir Douglas.

The Home of the Blizzard.

Mawson, Sir Douglas. The Home of the Blizzard. Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914. Lippincott, Phila. l9l5, 1st US edition. Mawson's tale is one of the great stories of survival of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Exploring with Ninnis & Mertz in 1912, Ninnis was lost down a crevasse. With him went the 6 fittest dogs & the most indispensable supplies. Mertz & Mawson improvised, feeding the dogs worn out mitts & raw-hide straps, but eventually the weakest dogs were killed to feed them all, until all the dogs were gone. The two men reserved the dog's livers as the meat easiest to chew, unaware that liver's toxins were slowly poisoning the men as they consumed it. Mertz became delirious and died. Mawson continued, the soles of his feet separating and his toes and fingers festering. Miraculously he found a depot of food, and arrived eventually at the main depot, to see the ship departing on the horizon. He wintered over with the 6 men who had remained to continue the search. On Dec. 24, 1913 their 2 year journey was finally over. 2 vols, 349 pp & 338 pp, 224 ills., 37 ills. in text, and 3 folding maps. Orig. navy buckram with silver title, secondary binding. Spine extremes & corners very lightly rubbed. Inner hinge vol 2 is cracked but strong, slt bump to top foredge corner of vol. 1. Otherwise a very good copy with the errata slip, competitively priced. The lst US edition was printed from the same sheets as lst UK edition printed by Heinemann the same year. Spence 773.

• USD 650.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 121

• bookseller: Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints (USA)