SCRAMBLES AMONGST THE ALPS IN THE YEARS 1860-69 (DELUXE EDITION, BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF)

London, England: John Murray, 1893. Fourth edition. Hardcover. Very Good / Very Good. James Mahoney and Cyrus Johnson (& Boot, Lapworth, J.W. North; A.R.A., T.D. Scott; P. Skelton; W.G. Smith; C.J. Staniland.. A cornerstone of mountaineering literature, in the de luxe edition, bound by Zaehnsdorf, regarded as the definitive edition. (Neate, W65).

Octavo, 9.25 in. x 6.75 in., pp. xviii, 468. Illustrated with twenty-three full page plates, one-hundred seven in text drawings, and five fold out maps on India paper. Cream cloth boards, decorated with gilt snowflake pattern to both boards and spine. Gilt title on green morocco panel and gilt band lines to spine. Top edge gilt. Untrimmed fore- and bottom edges. Rubbing to extremities; light age-spotting to boards. Dent at bottom of front joint; top corners nudged. Marbled endpapers. Bookseller's sticker ("Goulden and Nye, The Royal Library") and binders sticker to front pastedownr ("Bound by Zaehnsdorf'). Previous owner's inscription in pencil to flyleaf. Front hinge showing, but spine is tight. Scarce in original marbled slipcase (lightly scuffed) with gilt title on black panel to curved slipcase spine. Slipcase professionally restored (laid in: receipt for the slipcase restoration, dated 2006.) Some deterioration to paper at edges of slipcase. Edward Whymper was born on 27 April 1840 in London. The son of the artist, Josiah Wood Whymper, he entered his father's business in Lambeth as a wood-engraver at an early age. In 1860, he was commissioned to make a series of sketches of Alpine scenery, and undertook an extensive journey in the Central and Western Alps. The following year, Whymper completed the ascent of Mont Pelvoux, later reaching the summit of a neighbouring peak, subsequently named the Pointe des Ecrins (which at that time was the highest point in the French Alps) in 1864. In July 1865, he succeeded in reaching the summit of the Matterhorn by way of the eastern face, after six previous attempts had ended in failure. However, four members of the party were killed on the descent, resulting in a formal investigation on his return. His account of the accident is featured in "Scrambles among the Alps" (1871), which is illustrated with his own engravings. In 1880, he made the first ascent of Chimborazo, and spent a night on the summit of Cotopaxi, in addition to making first ascents of six other great peaks. He died in 1911. (from University of Cambridge Library).