London: William Heinemann, 1911. FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes. Quarto, pp.xi; 383. Quarto, pp.415. Publisher's decorated blue cloth, with artistic sunset motif in gilt adorning front board, with borders stamped in blind, gilt titles to spine. Tipped-in colour frontispiece with tissue guard at front of each volume, illustrated with several maps, charts and drawings throughout. A very good, used set; contents shaken within the case, some bumps and marks, short tear to head of spine of first volume. This copy from the library of the eminent British zoologist and naturalist Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878-1950), with his armorial bookplate, owner signature and a loose accompanying letter relating to this book. This work is a history of Arctic voyages from original sources – unlike many other collections, which drew from other historians' accounts, and often copied from other writers. Nansen was born in 1861 at Store Frøen, near Oslo, and was the son of a prosperous lawyer. Adventurous from his youth, Nansen excelled at skating, swimming, skiing, drawing, and the sciences. He studied Zoology at the University of Oslo. Nansen led the first crossing of Greenland by ski, and achieved great success with his Arctic expedition aboard Fram. Nansen was a celebrated pioneer in areas from oceanography, to the neuron theory, to sports skiing. He was also a distinguished diplomat, eventually becoming Commissioner of refugees for the League of Nations. A mountaineer unlike the others – Nansen was certainly a colourful and accomplished character. Item #48813

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