FRANKLIN, John, Sir (1786-1847). Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1819, 20, 21, and 22...With an Appendix on Various Subjects Relating to Science and Natural History. London: John Murray, 1823. 4to (270 x 212 mm). 4 engraved folding maps, 30 engraved plates (10 hand-colored). Contemporary tan polished calf gilt (rebacked preserving portions of original backstrip and endpapers).FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE (with text ending on p.768), describing Sir John Franklin's first voyage to explore the north coast of the American continent east of the Coppermine River. Covering 5,500 miles and lasting for three years, the journey was one of unimaginable hardship, with many men in Franklin's party dying of starvation, exposure, and murder. Franklin returned to London in 1822 a hero, and this narrative at once became a classic of travel literature. Abbey Travel 635; Arctic Bibliography 5194; Hill 635; Peel 80; Lande 1181; Sabin 25624; TPL 1248.