Little America: Aerial Exploration in the Antarctic - The Flight to the South Pole with 74 Illustrations and Maps [Signed Author's Autograph Edition]

New York - London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1930. Beautifully signed by Admiral Byrd and publishers and numbered in red at limitation page: "Author's Autograph Edition. Little America: Aerial Exploration in the Antarctic by Richard Evelyn Byrd, Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy. This edition limited to one thousand copies, signed by the author, of which this is Number '614', 'G. P. Putnam's Sons', 'R. E. byrd'." Textured sky blue boards, gilt spine titles, cream leather spine wrap and corners, some shelf wear, rub, discoloration. Thick, deckled pages good, clean, no writing; moderate page roll. Classic sepia frontispiece profile illustration by Rebecca Lindon Taylor of the Admiral w/red captioned wax page guard. Two fold-out maps and photo plates of ice wall, camp, etc.; seventy-four illustrations throughout. Icy blue endpapers. Bind good, square; hinges intact. Solid limited Author's Autograph edition. Here, in Little America, is the story of the Byrd Antarctic expedition told for the first time. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd left the States on October 13, 1928, aboard the C.A. Larsen, headed for New Zealand. The Bolling, City of New York, and James Clark Ross ships, all loaded with the necessary planes, dogs, men and equipment, and had been dispatched previously. When all of the ships reached New Zealand, they condensed the load to only two ships, the Bolling and the City of New York. The expedition ultimately would reach the Ross Ice Shelf on December 28, 1928. Days of laborious unloading and building shelters followed the Expedition's arrival in Antarctica, resulting in a complete village that Byrd named "Little America." Aside from an administration building and bunk house, the complex included three radio antenna towers, a mess hall, hangars for the airplanes, storage sheds and a machine shop that contained the first generator of electricity in Antarctica. Includes detailed index. Set and Printed by The Knickerbocker Press. Made in the U. S. A. 436 pages. Insured post.. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Good. Illus. by Taylor, Rebecca Lindon (Frontispiece Portrait). 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall.