Aurora australis.

The ascent of Mount Erebus / T.W.E. David -- Midwinter night / Nemo -- Trials of a messman / A messman -- A pony watch / Putty -- Southward bound / Lapsus Linguæ -- An interview with an emperor / A.F.M. -- Erebus / Nemo -- An ancient manuscript / Shellback -- Life under difficulties / J. Murray -- Bathybia / D. Mawson.

"Published at the winter quarters of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907, during the winter months of April, May, June, July 1908. Illustrated with lithographs and etchings; by George Marston"--Leaf [4].

Publication details from leaf [4].

Issued on paper watermarked with crown, and "Abbey Mills" and "Greenfield" watermarks.

Title within ornamental border, with hand-coloured vignette. Each chapter has own t.p. printed in orange. Penguin design (designed by Causton & Sons) stamped in orange on leaf [4] as printer's device, and blindstamped on spine of bound copies. Orange penguin stamps on t.p. of each chapter.

The first book ever printed in the Polar regions; ed. by E.H. Shackleton. Limited ed. of around 100 copies, 25-30 of which were bound by Bernard Day using wooden boards from packing cases. Copies vary slightly in contents.

Issued in two states, an earlier state with 10 engraved ill. (p. [119-120] has text on both sides), and a later state with 11 engraved ill. (p. [119-120] has revised text on one side and extra ill. on the other). Cf. Greene.

Greene, M.L. Aurora australis (1908). (In Book talk, p. 69-79), p. 72-73

Census of copies of the Aurora Australis, 30 (copy 1)

Census of copies of the Aurora Australis, 31 (copy 2)

Census of copies of the Aurora Australis, 273 (copy 3)

Alexander Turnbull Library Rare Book copy 1 65814: Conservation treatment; Oct. 2011 CLIO# 444685

Alexander Turnbull Library copy exhibited ; qREng AURO 1908 (1772) copy 2 : Simple to Sumptuous: Bookbindings 1450 to the Present. 5 April - 19 July 2008

Copy 1 Executing evolutions in mid air Alexander Turnbull Library copy exhibited ; qREng AURO 1908 ; (658814) : Extreme South: Antarctica Imagined, 7 July - 12 September 2014.

Copy 3 Upper cover of binding Alexander Turnbull Library copy exhibited ; qREng AURO 1908 ; (407302) : Extreme South: Antarctica Imagined, 7 July - 12 September 2014.

The Alexander Turnbull Library Rare Book copy 1 is earlier variant state with 10 plates. Binding: 1/4 harness leather, loose paper sheets laced with green cord within bevelled Venesta board wooden covers, printed "[J]ulienne soup", spine blind stamped with title and penguin printer's device, untrimmed edges. News clipping and extract from publisher's catalogue tipped onto flyleaf. Front cover loose. Provenance: Sir Joseph Kinsey bequest (bookplate and stamp), originally purchased from Sotheby's. Acc. 658814.

The Alexander Turnbull Library Rare Book copy 2 is later variant state with 11 plates. Binding: 1/4 harness leather, loose paper sheets laced with green cord within bevelled Venesta board wooden covers, printed "Beans", spine blind stamped with title and penguin printer's device, untrimmed edges. Provenance: bought by Alex H. Turnbull in 1912 from Francis Edwards, who possibly obtained it from Sir Ernest Wild (Alexander Turnbull Library MS-Papers-0057-112/1912/IV) ; bookplate of Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull. Acc. 1772.

Alexander Turnbull Library Rare Book copy 3 is the later variant with 11 plates. Binding: 1/4 harness leather, loose paper sheets laced with green cord within bevelled Venesta board covers, lower cover printed "31"; spine stamped with title and penguin printer's device, untrimmed edges. Provenance: armorial bookplate of Sir George Wyatt Truscott Bt & Kt on the inside of the upper board; presented by Shackleton to G. Wyatt Truscott, Lord Mayor of London c.1909; later sold at Sotheby's auction in London on 29 November 1990 but in a damaged state with some leaves missing; conservation work carried out (leaves secured and a tear repaired, leather backstrip and hinges replaced, and eight clearly labelled facsimile leaves inserted to replace the missing leaves); purchased in a restored state in 2002 by a private collector from the East Coast of the USA; purchased by the ATL from Waverly & Rugby Books, Pinehurst, North Carolina, 2013. Copy #273 on the Antarctic Circle website 'Census of copies of the Aurora Australis' www.antarctic-circle.org/aurora.census.htm . Acc. 407302.