Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Series
  3. Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration

This series includes accounts, by eye-witnesses and contemporaries, of early expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic. Huge resources were invested in such endeavours, particularly the search for the North-West Passage, which, if successful, promised enormous strategic and commercial rewards. Cartographers and scientists travelled with many of the expeditions, and their work made important contributions to earth sciences, climatology, botany and zoology. They also brought back anthropological information about the indigenous peoples of the Arctic region and the southern fringes of the American continent. The series further includes dramatic and poignant accounts of the harsh realities of working in extreme conditions and utter isolation in bygone centuries.

Refine search

Refine search

Content type:
Publication date:
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

202 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration

Page 6 of 11

A Voyage of Discovery Towards the North Pole
  • Performed in His Majesty's Ships Dorothea and Trent, under the Command of Captain David Buchan, R.N. 1818
  • Frederick William Beechey
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
  • Having joined the Royal Navy at the age of ten, Frederick William Beechey (1796–1856) had risen to the rank of lieutenant when he served under John Franklin on the 1818 British expedition to the Arctic in search of a possible route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two ships, the Dorothea and the Trent, were sent to find a route via the seas around Spitsbergen. A little north of 80° their progress was halted by ice. Sailing west to Greenland, the Dorothea was seriously damaged and the expedition aborted. Beechey's account remains the principal source for this voyage as neither Franklin nor the overall commander David Buchan published their journals. Beechey's Arctic service equipped him to later command the Blossom in northern waters: his two-volume Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait (1831) is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Schwatka's Search
  • Sledging in the Arctic in Quest of the Franklin Records
  • William Henry Gilder
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • A cavalry officer in the US Army, with training in law and medicine, Frederick Schwatka (1849–92) became interested in the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin following the search attempts led by the American explorer Charles Francis Hall. Supported by the American Geographical Society, Schwatka sailed in 1878 with five others in search of written records, believed to be deposited in cairns. A soldier turned journalist, William Henry Gilder (1838–1900) accompanied Schwatka and published this illustrated account in 1882. Their sledge journey with a party of twelve Inuit was at that time the longest on record. No documents were found, but the expedition did discover artefacts and graves of Franklin's men. Schwatka concluded that no scientific results from Franklin existed. In his adoption of Inuit techniques for safe travel in the Arctic, he preceded Vilhjalmur Stefansson by many decades.

Farthest North
  • Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship Fram, 1893–96, and of a Fifteen Months' Sleigh Journey
  • Volume 2
  • Fridtjof Nansen
  • Published online:
    05 March 2014
    Print publication:
    15 May 2011
    First published in:
    1897
  • Originally published in 1897, this two-volume work chronicles the polar expedition of Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930), who came closer than any previous explorer to the North Pole. Beginning on board his boat, the Fram, which was deliberately driven into pack-ice off Siberia in order to drift north, Nansen and his companions later resorted to sleds and kayaks. Volume 2 describes the journey over the ice – setting out with 28 dogs, 3 sledges and 2 kayaks – and ends with an account of the return journey. (It also includes Captain Otto Sverdrup's report of the expedition.) The Fram served as a laboratory during its time in the Arctic, and Nansen eventually published six volumes of scientific observations. He later became Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations, directing humanitarian projects, and is famous for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 as well as for his polar achievements.

Arctic Searching Expedition
  • A Journal of a Boat-Voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea, in Search of the Discovery Ships under Command of Sir John Franklin
  • Volume 2
  • John Richardson
  • Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1851
  • The surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787–1865) was a lifelong friend to his former commander Sir John Franklin, with whom he had twice travelled to seek the North-West Passage. Following two years of silence from Franklin after he embarked on his 1845 expedition to the Arctic, Richardson set out on his own voyage in the hope of finding his comrade. Originally published in 1851, this two-volume work charts the journey which would inevitably fail in its ambition: Franklin, unknown to Richardson, had already died in June 1847. Volume 2 begins with detailed descriptions of the aboriginal Chipewyan and Cree peoples. A thorough appendix comprises observations on physical geography, climatology and the geographical distribution of plants, and includes vocabularies for the dialects encountered during the mission. The text ends, Richardson having returned, with the hope that future expeditions may yet trace 'so many gallant victims to science'.

Arctic Searching Expedition
  • A Journal of a Boat-Voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea, in Search of the Discovery Ships under Command of Sir John Franklin
  • Volume 1
  • John Richardson
  • Published online:
    05 January 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1851
  • The surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787–1865) was a lifelong friend to his former commander Sir John Franklin, with whom he had twice travelled to seek the North-West Passage. Following two years of silence from Franklin after he embarked on his 1845 expedition to the Arctic, Richardson set out on his own voyage in the hope of finding his comrade. Originally published in 1851, this two-volume work charts the journey which would inevitably fail in its ambition: Franklin, unknown to Richardson, had already died in June 1847. Volume 1, which depicts the journey to Fort Confidence in the Canadian Arctic, ends with detailed descriptions of the aboriginal Inuit and Gwich'in peoples encountered. The text is punctuated throughout by accounts of the wildlife and geographical features sighted, and the customs and cultures observed on this remarkable mission.

Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific
  • Performed in the Years 1824–25, in His Majesty's ships Hecla and Fury, under the Orders of Captain William Edward Parry
  • William Edward Parry
  • Published online:
    05 September 2013
    Print publication:
    12 May 2011
    First published in:
    1826
  • In May 1824, the British explorer William Edward Parry (1790–1855) took to the seas on his third attempt to discover the North-West Passage, the legendary route to the Pacific along the northern coast of North America. It was a perilous voyage that he abandoned after the wreck of his ship, the Fury; however, during it he made some pioneering discoveries about the route's climate, meteorology, wildlife and nautical conditions, which influenced his successors and remain of interest to scientists and seafarers today. In these fascinating memoirs, first published in 1826, Parry documents his journey, revealing the difficulties he encountered and the phenomena he observed. Through extensive illustrations and vivid descriptions, he recalls the tumultuous weather and treacherous terrain that characterised - and finally defeated - the expedition, and expresses his gratitude to his fellow voyagers, for their bravery and determination in adversity, and their united efforts to save the doomed vessel.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 6
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    14 June 2012
    First published in:
    1844
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. Volume 6, published in 1844, charts the geographical features and the traditions of the people of several Indonesian provinces.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 8
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1845
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for southern-hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. Volume 8, published in 1845, sees d'Urville's return to Antarctica in 1840, and his discovery of Adélie Land, after visiting Borneo, Java and Sumatra.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 4
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1842
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. In Volume 4, published in 1842, d'Urville presents his discoveries about customs on the Marquesas and Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa and Tonga.

Journal d'un Voyage aux Mers Polaires
  • Exécuté à la Recherche de Sir John Franklin, en 1851 et 1852
  • Joseph René Bellot
  • Preface by Julien Lemer
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1854
  • The intrepid French explorer Joseph René Bellot (1826–53) became a symbol of Anglo-French friendship in 1851, when he took part in the second expedition of the Prince Albert in search of Sir John Franklin. During the seventeen-month expedition, Bellot wrote a journal which captures his enthusiasm for the discovery of unknown lands and the anxieties of a perilous journey. Together with Captain William Kennedy, Bellot found the northernmost point of the American continent and was named a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His journal was published posthumously, together with a short account of his life, in 1854 by Julien Lemer, and reissued several times because of its scientific and literary interest. Bellot died tragically, aged twenty-seven, during his second polar expedition. His courage and devotion to a foreign cause earned him much admiration in Britain: an obelisk was raised in his honour outside the Greenwich Hospital for sailors.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 9
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1846
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. In Volume 9, published in 1846, d'Urville shows his strong personal interest in ethnography as he reflects on the life and customs of Tasmania and New Zealand.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 3
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1842
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. Volume 3, published in 1842, gives a detailed account of life and traditions in Chile and on the island of Mangareva (French Polynesia).

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 5
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1843
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. Volume 5, published in 1843, recounts the crew's adventures on small islands off Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 7
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1844
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. In Volume 7, published in 1844, d'Urville reflects on the Dutch colonisation of Singapore and describes further discoveries he had made in Indonesia.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 2
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1842
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. Volume 2, published in 1842, traces d'Urville's first heroic but failed attempt at locating the south magnetic pole in 1838, and his return to Chile.

Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée
  • Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840
  • Volume 10
  • Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    24 May 2012
    First published in:
    1846
  • In 1836, the French King Louis-Philippe, enthusiastic for Southern Hemisphere exploration, supported J. Dumont d'Urville's plan for a circumnavigation focusing on the South Seas. D'Urville (1790–1842) had already distinguished himself on two Pacific expeditions and was eager to rival the achievements of James Cook. Between 1837 and 1840, the ships Astrolabe and Zélée explored the waters of the Antarctic area and Oceania in extremely harsh conditions: almost forty crew members died or deserted. However, d'Urville discovered a new portion of the Antarctic coast, shed light on the ethnography of several Pacific islands and brought back multitudes of botanical specimens. His impressive contributions to the fields of geography, natural history and ethnography were gathered in this ten-volume work, published between 1841 and 1846. In Volume 10, published in 1846, which includes extracts from his correspondence, as well as a biography, d'Urville shares his immense relief as he returns to France.

The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe
  • With a Historical Review of Previous Journeys along the North Coast of the Old World
  • Volume 1
  • Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
  • Translated by Alexander Leslie
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    10 May 2012
    First published in:
    1881
  • The Finnish geologist and Arctic explorer A. E. Nordenskiöld (1832–1901) spent much of his life in exile in Sweden, where he was made a baron. He served as Superintendent of the Mineralogical Department of the Swedish Royal Museum, and later became a Member of the Swedish Academy. Following a number of expeditions during the 1860s, he concluded that the North Pole could not be reached by ship, and in 1872 he tried unsuccessfully to reach it overland. A great historian of cartography, he amassed a huge collection of maps, now included in UNESCO's 'Memory of the World' Register. This two-volume work, published in Swedish in 1881, describes his most famous voyage, the first crossing of the North-East Passage. Volume 1 includes details of the flora, fauna, people and geology encountered on the journey from Tromso to the Bering Strait, along with a review of previous exploration in the region.

The North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle
  • Edited by Edward Sabine
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    14 June 2012
    First published in:
    1821
  • Alone, months of sailing separating them from home, in the polar winter where the sun never rises, the two ships of Captain William Parry's expedition lay encased in ice from November 1819 to March 1820. In order to fully chart the North-West Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific, it was necessary to overwinter in the Arctic, something that no other British expedition had done before. To boost morale in these uncomfortable circumstances, Captain Edward Sabine (1788–1883), a senior scientist carrying out measurements of natural phenomena, founded and edited a weekly magazine, which ran for twenty-one issues and was made available to the wider world in 1821. Offering jokes, poems, stories and thinly disguised gossip, the members of the expedition contributed to the magazine with enthusiasm (after having first thawed their ink). This little book offers unique insight into what polar exploration in the nineteenth century was actually like.

Report of the President and Council of the Royal Society on the Instructions to be Prepared for the Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic Regions
  • Royal Society
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    07 June 2012
    First published in:
    1840
  • The 1839–43 Antarctic expedition was primarily a scientific voyage. James Clark Ross, a member of the expedition that had located the Magnetic North Pole in 1831, was the natural choice to lead this mission to find the Magnetic South Pole. Although he was unsuccessful in this aim, he charted the coastline of most of the continent, collected valuable scientific data and made several important discoveries. Published in 1840, these papers were prepared by the Royal Society for the expedition and give detailed instructions on how to make the important magnetic and meteorological observations. There are further instructions, such as how to preserve animal specimens, and surprisingly a request to investigate the reasons for the poor cultivation of vines at the Cape of Good Hope as 'the bad quality of Cape wine … is well known'. These papers reveal the expectations and demands placed upon this expedition.

Vocabulaire Français–Esquimau
  • Dialecte des Tchiglit des bouches du Mackenzie et de l'Anderson
  • Émile Petitot
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    07 June 2012
    First published in:
    1876
  • French missionary Émile Petitot (1838–1916) was based in Canada's Northwest Territories for twelve years, from 1862. He visited the Inuit people five times and became so well accepted that they called him 'Mr Petitot, son of the Sun'. Petitot believed that understanding Inuit languages was crucial to the religious conversion of the natives. During his mission, he collected more linguistic material than ever before and prepared dictionaries of the various Dene dialects. In this book, published in 1876, he describes the Inuit's traditions and sets about the monumental task of compiling the first grammar and vocabulary of the extremely complex Tchiglit dialect. Petitot also made substantial contributions to the geology, palaeontology, zoology and botany of the Northwest region. His efforts were rewarded with a Silver Medal from the French Société de Géographie and the Back Award from the Royal Geographical Society of London.

Page 6 of 11