London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1905. First Edition, limited to 1,000 copies only.
Before the doomed heroics of the Terra Nova, there was the Discovery. Published in 1905 in a small edition of just one thousand sets, these two volumes record the British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04, the voyage that first carried Captain Robert Falcon Scott into the unknown south and set the stage for the final, tragic chapter of his career.
Here, in Scott’s own words, is the narrative of a journey that combined hardship with triumph: the first major scientific exploration of the Antarctic continent, charting new coasts, mapping glaciers, and venturing further south than any had gone before. It was on this expedition that Scott forged his reputation as a leader and explorer, alongside men who would themselves become legendary - including Ernest Shackleton, making his first polar voyage, and Edward Wilson, the gifted naturalist who would later perish with Scott on the return from the Pole.
Lavishly produced, the set is illustrated with photogravure frontispieces, panoramas, large folding maps, and hundreds of photographs and sketches capturing both the stark beauty and unyielding hostility of the Antarctic. The bindings are the original publisher’s navy cloth, the covers gilt–stamped with the expedition’s striking emblem: the Discovery under full sail within a laurel wreath.
Condition: Spines darkened with gentle rubbing, the gilt devices bright; text and plates generally clean, with some scattered foxing to preliminaries and edges. A handsome and complete first edition of one of the foundation texts of Antarctic exploration.
The Voyage of the Discovery is not only Scott’s first great work but also a cornerstone of polar literature - and with only 1,000 sets ever issued, it remains far scarcer than his later 'Last Expedition'.
