PARRY, Sir William Edward (1790-1855). A complete set of Parry's four voyages. London, 1821-1828. FIRST EDITIONS.
Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Performed in the Years 1819-20, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Griper. London: William Clowes for John Murray, 1821. 6 engraved maps by J. Walker after John Bushnan et al., 2 folding, 9 aquatint plates by W. Westall after E.W. Beechey and H.P. Hoppner, and 5 etched plates by J. Clark after Beechey. Illustrations, diagrams, and letterpress tables in the text, one table folding. Errata slip tipped in after z1. Arctic Bibliography 13145; Brunet IV:387; Hill 1311; Lowndes p.1789; Sabin 58860 and 58861.Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Performed in the Years 1821-22-23, in His Majesty's Ships Fury and Hecla. London: William Clowes for John Murray, 1824. Engraved frontispiece, 29 etched or aquatint plates (one plate trimmed close), all by E. Finden after G. Lyon, 4 engraved folding plates of coastal profiles by J. Walker after J. Bushnan, 9 engraved maps (4 folding) by J. Walker after J. Bushnan et al. Illustrations, diagrams, and letterpress tables in the text. Arctic Bibliography 13142 (including the 1825 "Appendix"); Brunet IV:388; Hill 1312; Lowndes p.1789; Sabin 58864 and 58865.Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Performed in the Years 1824-25, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Fury. London: William Clowes for John Murray, 1826. Engraved frontispiece by E. Finden after H. N. Head, 5 engraved plates by E. Finden after H.P. Hoppner and H.N. Head, one engraved folding plate of coastal profiles by J. & C. Walker after H.N. Head, and 4 engraved maps by J. & C. Walker (one folding). Illustrations, diagrams, and letterpress tables in the text. Arctic Bibliography 13144 (erroneously calling for 8 plates); Brunet IV: 388; Hill 1313; Lowndes p.1789; Sabin 58867.Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, in boats ... Attached to His Majesty's Ship Hecla. London: William Clowes for John Murray, 1828. Engraved frontispiece and 3 engraved plates by E. Finden and 3 engraved maps by J. & C. Walker (one folding and finished in color by hand, mounted on linen). Woodcut diagrams and letterpress tables in the text. Retaining "Directions to the Binder"/errata leaf. FIRST EDITION. Arctic Bibliography 13146; Brunet IV:388; Lowndes p. 1789; Sabin 58868.Together 4 works in 4 volumes, 4to (272 x 213 mm). (A few maps reinforced or repaired on verso, some light spotting or offsetting.) Uniformly bound in modern half calf. A COMPLETE SET OF FIRST EDITIONS OF PARRY'S THREE VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE TOGETHER WITH HIS FOURTH VOYAGE TO THE NORTH POLEAlthough Parry's three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage were unsuccessful, each advanced the knowledge of the area and resulted in new discoveries. "The immediate achievements of these voyages were the charting of hundreds of miles of coastline in the Canadian Arctic archipelago and the collecting of valuable data on Arctic natural history" (Hill). The expedition to the North Pole in 1827 sailed to Treurenburg Bay, Northern West Spitzbergen, and travelled over the ice in wheeled boats in their attempt to reach the Pole. They were frustrated by the conditions and the realization that the southwards drift of the ice was hindering their progress towards the Pole; nevertheless, they achieved 8245', which was the furthest North any human had travelled; their record stood for nearly fifty years.
