HOOPER, W. H. (William Hulme, 1827-1854)

[Inuit] [Northwest Passage] [Arctic] Ten months among the tents of the Tuski : with incidents of an Arctic boat expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, as far as the Mackenzie River, and Cape Bathurst

London: Published by John Murray, 1853. First Edition. Morocco. First Edition of this truly fascinating account, important for its descriptions of the manners, customs, and culture of the Inuit and other native tribes, particularly the Chukchi (Tuski) people. Thick 8vo: xv,[1],417,[1]pp, with 4 full-page tinted lithographs (by J. Brandard after P. Skill), 3 line drawings (2 full-page), 4 woodcut vignettes, and folding partially colored lithographed map. Bound without half-title. Contemporary elaborately paneled (in gilt and blind) full green morocco, ornate gilt central ornament on upper cover, richly gilt spine in compartments between five raised bands; all edges gilt, pale yellow end papers, brown silk page marker. Elegantly inscribed in fountain pen to front fly-leaf: [To] "Alfred F. A. Hanbury Tracy [presumably a close relation of the British politician Frederick Stephen Archibald Hanbury-Tracy, 1848-1906] / with the best wishes / of his affectionate friend / John Hetherington / on his leaving Eton / Election. 1863." A superlative copy, barely used, in bespoke binding. Preliminaries foxed, else virtually spotless; all plates pristine; raised bands lightly rubbed. Sabin 32883. Abbey, Travel, 641. Arctic Bibliography I, 7395. Field, Indian Bibliography 713. Lada-Mocarski 140. Lande 1238. National Maritime Museum I 903. Smith, Pacific Northwest Americana 4615. TPL 3176. Wickersham, Bibliography of Alaskan Literature, 6591. Cooke & Holland, Exploration of Northern Canada, pp. 183 and 473. Fine. Item #BB1667

Hooper sailed out of Plymouth as mate of the H.M.S. Plover on January 30, 1848, on a three-year mission to search for and relieve Sir John Franklin's Northwest Passage Expedition of 1845. Hooper led a party along the coast of the Bering Strait as far as Cape Atcheen, and through the winter mixed with the local people, whom he called Tuski, and whose language he learned. The following summer, in one of the Plover's boats, explored as far as the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Finally, in 1851, abandoning the Plover, the entire search party traveled overland to New York, and reached England in October. "Hooper's health had given way under the hardships of three Arctic winters, and he became a confirmed invalid, relieving the tedium of his illness by writing [this] account of the expedition." He died the following year, aged twenty-seven. (ODNB) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $874.00