Life with the Esquimaux: The Narrative of Captain Charles Francis Hall, of the Whaling Barque "George Henry," from the 29th May, 1860, to the 13th September, 1862. With the Results of a Long Intercourse with the Inuits
Author: Charles Francis Hall (c1821-1871)
Year: 1864
Publisher: Sampson Low, Son and Marston
Place: London
Description:
2 volumes. xvi+324 pages with 41 plates and illustrations including frontispiece and large folding lithograph map. x+352 pages with 61 wood engraved plates and illustrations with appendix. Octavo (8 1/" x 5 1/2"0 bound in modern black cloth with gilt lettering to spine and former initials to front heal hinge. (Indian Bibliography 640) First edition.
In 1860, Charles Francis Hall, the American polar explorer, embarked on the first of two voyages to the Canadian Arctic region aimed at investigating the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of 1847. During his time in the Arctic, Hall lived amongst the Inuit community, learning their language and embracing their everyday life. First published in 1864, Hall's recollections remain of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. His eye-witness accounts of the indigenous people's dwellings, hunting pursuits, birth and death rites, transportation, interpersonal relationships, and survival strategies in severe weather conditions provide an insight into Inuit culture in the nineteenth century. Volume 1 describes Hall's journey north, arrival at Holsteinborg, the Danish administrative center in Greenland, and onward voyage to Baffin Island. In Volume 2 he tells of his various journeys around Frobisher Bay, where he discovers artefacts from Martin Frobisher's sixteenth-century mining venture.
Condition:
Clinton E Geiser book plate to front pastedowns, lightly toned, endpapers renewed, modern black buckram, some occasional internal fingering else very good.
