Watkins' Last Expedition

London: Chatto & Windus, 1934. First edition. Cloth. Very Good/Good Only. 9.5" by 6.5". Not Stated. The first edition of this illustrated account of Gino Watkins's fatal East Greenland Expedition, enclosed in the original scarce dust wrapper. The first edition of British Army Officer Freddie Spencer Chapman's account of the ill-fated 1932-33 Greenland Expedition led by twenty-five year old explorer Henry 'Gino' Watkins.Following the discovery of Watkins' empty kayak, Chapman led a three man team across the desolate Greenland ice cap. The first to do this since Fridtjof Nansen, Chapman experienced cold of such intensity that he lost all his finger and toe nails.Watkins's body was never found.Enclosed in the original scarce dust wrapper. Illustrated with one folding map, one further map, and forty-eight photographic plates. Collated, complete. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, sound, with some shelf wear to the boards. Some light tidemarks to the front board and some light bumping to the head and tail of the spine and extremities. A small puncture to the spine. Original price-clipped dust wrapper has some edgewear and rubbing to the backstrip and extremities. Light sunning to the backstrip, and loss to the bottom right corner of the front of the wrap. Internally, firmly bound. A few spots the first and last few pages and fore-edge, otherwise pages are generally bright and clean. Very Good