Mountains and Mountaineering
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A note on OCLC
As is now the norm, OCLC counts are tentative, at best, as we recognize that searches using different qualifiers will often turn up different results. Searches are now further complicated by the vast numbers of digital, microfilm, and even print-on-demand copies, which have polluted the database considerably, making it difficult, without numerous phone calls or emails, to determine the actual number of tangible copies. Hence, even though the counts herein have been recently checked, most all should be taken as a measure of approximation.
1. Alpine Club library catalogue. Books and periodicals. London: Heinemann, 1982.
$25
Small folio, pp. viii, 350, 230; text printed in 2 columns; original red printed wrappers, water damage to bottom right-hand corner causing some pages to stick together. A short-title list of one of the great mountaineering libraries.
2. To the untouched mountain: the New Zealand conquest of Molamenqing, Tibet. [Wellington: A. H. and A. W. Reed Ltd, 1983].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. [6], 242; map endpapers. 34 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 6 plates; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Yakushi A215: "Account of the 1981 New Zealand expedition to Molamenqing (7703m), a satellite peak of Xixabangma in Tibet."
3. Tours in upper India, and in parts of the Himalaya Mountains; with accounts of the courts of the native princes, &c. In two volumes. London: Richard Bentley, 1833.
$300
First edition, 8vo., pp. xviii, 387, [1]; x, 356; rubber stamp of the school district of Brooklyn, N.Y. on title page of both volumes, evidence of a vernacular dust jacket having been removed on pastedowns, with stains and wrinkles, modern bookplates on front free endpapers, and Brooklyn rules and regs slip on versos of front free endpapers; otherwise, an okay copy in original green pebble-grain cloth, printed paper labels on spine, that on volume I a bit toned and with 2 small chips. A strange (British imprint, Brooklyn library, remains of a vernacular dust jacket), but entirely acceptable copy.
Includes discussion of elephant fights, Hindu architecture, Agra, Delhi, the wild beasts of the Himalayan Mountains, tiger hunting, traveling Lamas, hill tribes, the Indian military, and the beautiful mountains themselves.
Yakushi A242.
4. The mountains of my life. Journeys in Turkey and the Alps. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, 1954.
$25
First edition, 4to, pp. xii, 211, [1]; frontispiece, numerous black & white photographic plates; original light blue cloth, gilt-lettered spine, pictorial dust jacket (clipped); rear panel of jacket lightly soiled, jacket lightly chipped at edges; very good. The book is illustrated from the author's own photographs.
5. Rakaposhi. Foreword by Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Templer. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, [1960].
$35
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 238; 3 maps and 35 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 12 plates; a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.
The story of two assaults in 1956 and 1958, and the first ascent of Rakaposhi made in 1958.
Yakushi B95.
6. Seven summits. New York: Warner Books, [1986].
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. ix, [1], 336; 74 color illustrations on rectos and versos of 16 plates; fine copy in the dust jacket.
With a stunning array of people who submitted jacket blurbs: Tom Brokaw, Chris Bonnington, Peter Ueberroth, Clint Easttwood, H. Ross Perot, Gerald R. Ford, and Robert Redford, all friends, no doubt, of Frank Wells, one-time president of Walt Disney Company, and Dick Bass, oilman and rancher from Texas, with coal interests in Alaska, and the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.
Yakushi B156: "The story of two men determined to climb the seven highest mountains [on each of the seven continents], and their ascents 1983-1985, with a final ascent of Everest."
7. The siege of Nanga Parbat 1856-1953 ... Translated from the German by R. W. Rickmers. With a preface by Sir John Hunt. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1956.
$100
First edition in English, 8vo, pp. 211, [1]; 2 maps (1 double-page), frontispiece, 22 illustrations from photographs (2 double-page) on rectos and versos of 10 plates, plus 1 facsimile in the text; fine copy in original yellow cloth, in a very good unclipped dust jacket. Appalachian Mountain Club bookplate (released).
Yakushi B175b: "Complete survey of the attempts on Nanga Parbat, including everything from the mid-19th century explorations of Adolf Schlagintweit, the first European to see the peak, to H. Buhl's solo climb to the summit in 1953."
8. In the shadow of Mount McKinley ... Foreword by John Burnham. New York: Derrydale Press, 1931.
$500
Edition limited to 750 copies, 8vo, pp. [2], xiii, [1], map endpapers, color frontispiece after a painting by Carl Rungius, folding map, numerous illustrations from photographs by the author plus others by Rungius; bookplate and ownership signature of Robert Rulon Miller, Christmas, 1935; spine a little faded, else very good in original blue cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine.
9. The journal of Captain John R. Bell, official journalist for the Stephen H. Long expedition to the Rocky Mountains, 1820. Glendale: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1973.
$50
Second printing, 8vo, pp. 349, [1]; portrait frontispiece, folding map and 8 full-page text illustrations; full green publisher's cloth, fine.
Vol. VI in the Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, 1820-1875. "Containing rare documents and journals dealing with the opening of the Rocky Mountain West, this series received immediate acclaim from both the academic and general audience." Edited and with introduction by Harlin M. Fuller and LeRoy R. Hafen.
Clark & Brunet 104.
10. Thunder dragon kingdom. A mountaineering expedition to Bhutan. [Ramsbury, Marlborough: The Crowood Press. Seattle: Cloudcap, 1988].
$25
First edition, 8vo, pp. viii, [2], 166; 3 maps, 20 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 5 plates; text toned, else a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Yakushi B320: "Account of the International expedition to Gangkar Punsum (7550m), the highest peak in Bhutan, in autumn 1986."
11. The white death ... Illustrated by Kathe Strangfeld Krohn. Seattle: Reynard House, 1981.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], 309, [5]; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Yakushi B325a: "Personal accounts of the expeditions to Broad Peak (1978), Kangchenjunga (1979), Kusim Kanguru (1979), Mount Everest (1979), Nuptse, and others." Georges Bettembourg was tragically killed by a rock fall in the Alps in 1983 while guiding a crystal-hunting party.
12. Darjeeling at a glance. A handbook, both descriptive and historical of Darjeeling and Sikkim with thrilling accounts of Everest expeditions by land and air . Darjeeling : Oxford Book & Stationery Co., n.d., [after 1943].
$45
Reprint of the fourth edition, 12mo, pp. 144; folding panorama, 11 photographic illustrations printed in blue on rectos and versos of 5 plates; spine partially perished; a good copy or better in original pictorial brown wrappers. Includes the history of the city, the journey from Calcutta, and sections on the hill people, Kinchenjunga, and Everest expeditions.
13. Sacred summits. Seattle: The Mountaineers, [1982].
$25
First edition, 8vo, pp. 264; 7 maps and drawings and 34 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 12 plates; a fine copy in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
Yakushi B432a: "Containing the accounts of the expedition to Kangchenjunga in the spring of 1979, and of the expedition to Gaurisankar the autumn, 1979. The author disappeared on the NE-ridge of Everest in 1982."
14. The shining mountain. Two men on Changabang's west wall. With Material by Joe Tasker. Epilogue by Chris Bonnington. New York: E. P. Dutton, [1982].
$35
First American edition, 8vo, pp. [9], 12-193, [1]; 3 maps, 26 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 8 plates; fine copy in original tan cloth-backed paper-covered boards, in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
Yakushi B431a, not noting this American edition: "Story of the successful climbing of the west wall of Changabang in 1976 by the author and Joe Tasker." Boardman and Tasker disappeared on the north-east ridge of Everest 1982.
15. The ultimate challenge: the hardest way up the hardest mountain in the world. New York: Stein and Day, [1973].
$20
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 352; 56 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 16 plates; near fine copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket.
Yakushi B462b: "1972 British expedition to Everest."
16. Journal of a voyage to Peru: a passage across the Cordillera of the Andes, in the winter of 1827, performed on foot in the snow; and a journey across the Pampas. London: Henry Colburn, 1828.
$650
First edition, 8vo, pp. xvii, [3], 346, [2] ads; 4 uncolored aquatints; later quarter brown calf over marbled boards, green morocco label on gilt-paneled spine; extremities rubbed, else a very good copy.
Hill, Pacific Voyages, 179: "Contains much information on both Chile and Argentina, in addition to Peru. He also visited Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, and crossed the Banda Oriental (Uruguay) to Buenos Aires. From Valparaiso, Chile, he sailed on the Orion to Callao and Lima. On his return trip aboard the Volador, he visited the Juan Fernandez Islands..."
Abbey, Travel, 724; Sabin 7388.
17. Living on the edge. Layton, Utah: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc., [1987].
$25
First edition, 8vo, pp. 213, [1]; frontispiece portrait, 33 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 12 plates; fine copy in an unclipped dust jacket.
Yakushi B558: "In January 1985 the author and Chris Chandler attempted the first winter climb of Kanchenjunga North-Face. But Chandler lost his life." And Bremer-Kamp suffered severe frostbite.
18. The windhorse. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, [1987].
$25
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 223, [1]; 32 illustrations (23 in color) on rectos and versos of 8 plates; fine copy in the dust jacket.
Two women, one blind and the other an experienced mountaineer recount their adventure trekking in Nepal.
19. Resources of the Pacific Slope. A statistical and descriptive summary of the mines and minerals, climate, topography, agriculture, commerce, manufactures...of the states and territories west of the Rocky Mountains. With a sketch of the settlement and exploration of lower California. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1869.
$375
2 parts in 1; 8vo, pp. 378; 200; original brown cloth, spine faded and rather chipped at the top; ex-Northern Pacific Railway Co. with small rubberstamp on the flyleaf, but no other markings; good and sound.
This copy inscribed to "Thomas H. Canfield Esq. with the compliments of J. Ross Browne." Canfield (1822-1897) was a Burlington, Vermont, businessman who played a prominent role in the development of transportation routes in Vermont, across the northern United States, and into Canada.
Not in Graff or Howes. Sabin 8662: "This is a report to the Secretary of the Treasury, printed apparently at Washington [in 1868]. Pages 1 and 2, which in the official edition contain the Letter of the Secretary, are here omitted."
20. Himalayan wanderer. London: Alexander Maclehose & Co., 1934.
$375
First edition, 8vo, pp. [8], 309, [3] (blank); frontispiece and 21 illustrations on 15 plates; original green cloth, partially unopened; spine sunned, spotting to endpapers, textblock clean and sound; very good in a good jacket with chips, splits, and plastic protector once taped to front flap, but without loss.
C. G. Bruce was Brigadier-General of the Indian army and experienced mountaineer. He participated in three of the earliest climbing expeditions to the Himalayan Mountains, was president of the Alpine Club from 1923-1925, and was leader of the first two British attempts to summit Everest in 1922 and 1924. "This is the story of a great explorer's life. The big expeditions; Conway's exploration in the Karakorum, Mummery's attack on Nanga Parbat, Longstaff's success on Trisul, two Mount Everest expeditions ... Including visits to Nepal in 1907 and 1914" (Yakushi, Catalogue of Himalayan Literature).
Yakushi 594a.
21. Men against the clouds. The conquest of Minya Konka. With contributions by Terris Moore and Jack Theodore Young. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1935.
$65
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiii [1], 292; map endpapers, frontispiece, 64 plates, 8 maps; a very good, sound, and clean copy in original gray cloth stamped in blue and gilt.
Yakushi B623: "The account of the Harvard Univ. expedition to Minya Konka on the Chinese border of Tibet in 1932. Burdsall and Moore reached the summit on October 28. The second ascent was accomplished by the Chinese party in 1957."
22. A sketch of the geography and geology of the Himalaya mountains and Tibet. Delhi: Manager of Publications, 1933-34.
$2,500
Second and best edition, 4 volumes in 2, 4to, pp. [6], 68; [6], [69]-139, [1]; [2], v, [1], 141-276, xxvi; [2], v, [1], 277-359, [1], xxxii; frontispiece chart, 2 gravure plates, 50 other charts and maps (numbered I-LII (bis), with 3 omitted, as published, 8 of them folding, 1 double-page, a number printed in color, including one showing the course of the Brahmaputra River, and a large folding geological map printed in color at the back of the last volume; contemporary (original?) black cloth, gilt-stamped spine; generally fine inside and out.
Part I is subtitled The High Peaks of Asia; part II, The Principal Mountain Ranges of Asia; part III, The Glaciers and Rivers of the Himalaya and Tibet; and part IV, The Geology of the Himalaya.
Yakushi B637b.
23. Abeokuta and the Cameroons Mountains. An exploration. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1863.
$4,500
First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xvi, 333, [2] ads; v, [1], 306, [2] ads; photographic portrait of the author (from a painting), 4 plates and a map; near fine in original green cloth lettered in gilt on spine.
Penzer, p. 70: "Portraits in his works are rare." Casada 25: "The work had two basic purposes; suggested measures to 'secure our [Britain's] influence upon the seaboard of Yoruba' and descriptions of Burton's explorations in the mountains..."
24. [Canada.] Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains: a diary and narrative of travel, sport, and adventure, during a journey through the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, in 1859 and 1860. By the Earl of Southesk. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1875.
$450
First edition, first issue (without the half-title); 8vo, pp. [3], viii-xxviii, 448; 2 folding maps printed 3 colors, 7 wood-engraved plates, 5 lithographic facsimiles, plus other illustrations in the text; original blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine; hinges cracked, spine ends chipped and cracked, the whole a little shaken, lending library label removed from upper cover, ex-Northern Pacific Railway Co. Library with small rubberstamp on the flyleaf and a small accession label at the base of the spine, but no other markings; a good copy of a not-so-common book.
Based on a "carefully-kept journal, for the most part noted down evening by evening over the camp fire, and none of it written, save a sentence or two, at intervals of more than a few days after the occurences it relates" (Preface).
Sabin 88549; Graff 588; TPL 4019 (citing the second issue).
25. Innermost Asia. Travel & sport in the Pamirs. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900.
$125
First American edition, 8vo, pp. xviii, 354; 29 plates, 5 maps, including one large color folding map, and 85 text illustrations; original rose cloth gilt; boards sunned, hinges cracked and gutter split in multiple places, ex-Yale Divinity Library, with their bookplate and stamps, and residue of spine markings neatly eradicated, good.
A "narrative of the author's travel to Taghdumbash Pamir, Kashgar, and the Tien Shan area from Gilgit, with H.H.P. Deasy in part, in 1897-98." From the preface: "My original object in visiting the Pamir region of Central Asia was that of the sportsman, and I had no idea of either troubling myself with inquiries into the social and political conditions of the people, or of recording my travels in a book. The opportunities for observation afforded by my close intercourse with the people, the acquaintances I made among the Russian and Chinese officials, and my enforced detention at Kala-i-Wamar and Fort Charog, served to place me in an altogether exceptional position in regard to the status quo political and strategic at present existing in Innermost Asia, and as in the course of my journeys I visited a considerable stretch of country which has never before been seen by and Englishman and am ... the only European, other than Russian, who has traversed the banks of the Oxus in the regions of Roshand and Shighnan, I feel that it is my duty to publish the results of my experiences..." The London edition was published the same year.
Yakushi C306 for the London edition.
26. Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas ... with three hundred illustrations by A. D. McCormick, and a map. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1894.
$1,250
First edition, large 8vo, pp. xxviii, 709, [1], [2] ads; folding map and numerous illustrations in the text, some full-page; original pictorial maroon cloth stamped in black, silver, and gilt, t.e.g.; ex-Beaver Country Day School with a small rubberstamp on the title page and traces of a label removed from the base of the spine, pocket removed from the rear endpapers; internally clean, binding remains sound.
Accompanied by the companion volume: Climbing in the Himalayas. Maps and scientific reports [cover title]. First edition, 8vo, pp. viii, 127, [1]; gravure frontispiece portrait of the author, 2 very large folding color maps in cover pockets with occasional neat and professional repairs at some folds on the versos; original pictorial beige cloth stamped in black and gilt; binding a bit soiled, 2 small worm tracks in bottom margin, not touching and letterpress; all else very good and sound.
Contains the following scientific reports: Durand, A.G., The eastern Hindu Kush; Conway, W.M., List of measured altitudes; Conway, W.M., Notes on the map; Bonney, T.G., Notes on rock specimens; Hemsley, W.B., Plants; Kirby, W.F., Butterflies; Butler, A.G., Moths; Duckworth, W.L.H., Description of two skulls brought by Mr. Conway from Nagyr; Roy, C.F., Mountain sickness. Based on notes by W.M. Conway, on his Experiences in the Karakoram-Himalayas.
As the book was issued in both yellow cloth and maroon cloth, this is clearly a made-up set.
Yakushi C336a noting only the American edition.
27. Adventures on the Columbia River, including the narrative of a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown: together with a journey across the American continent.. New York: J & J Harper, 1832.
$1,250
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 2 (ads), xv, [1] 25-335; original blue-green muslin, printed paper label on spine with partial loss affecting a number of letters (sense remains clear); prelims and terminals a bit foxed, spine ends chipped and worn with a small crack starting at bottom of upper joint, cover spotted, all else remains good and sound.
Field 377: "The narrative of the personal experience of a fur-trader, among the Indians of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Slope; full of adventure, history, and character. The narrations of Cox, as well as those of Alexander Ross and of Franchere, cover the same period, and afford us other views of the same events as are related by Washington Irving in his "Astoria."
Wagner-Camp 43:2, Sabin 17267, Field 377, Howes C-822, American Imprints 12019, Pilling, Proof-sheets 915.
28. Storm and sorrow in the high Pamirs. New York: Simon & Schuster, [1980].
$30
Revised edition, 8vo, pp. 223, [1]; 2 maps, and 20 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 4 plates; remainder mark on bottom edge, else a fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket.
Yakushi C365: "The story of the America's group participation in the International meet in the Pamirs in 1974."
29. The pioneers of the Alps. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1887.
$1,500
First edition, 4to, x, [2], 287, [1]; heliogravure frontispiece, vignette title page, gravure portrait on dedication page, 23 gravure portraits of the pioneers, plus a number of illustrations in the text (several full-page); original red cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine, t.e.g.; hinges cracked, cloth a little bubbled, spine extremities cracked and worn, all else very good.
Biographical sketches of the great early Alpine guides, illustrated with Abney's superb photographic portraits. The text contains contributions by 18 noted Alpinists, including Douglas Freshfield and William Conway, and subjects covered, in addition to the biographical sketches, include a history of mountaineering from 1387 to 1885, Alpine accidents, mountaineering without guides, mountaineering in winter, ice-axes and rope, and "guidecraft."
Abney (1843-1920), was a famous photographer, and an early pioneer in color photography. He was a experienced traveler and often visited Switzerland and Italy to climb. Cunningham was a Scottish climber and an advocate of winter climbing in Scotland.
Neate 197.
30. Buddhists and glaciers of western Tibet. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1934.
$225
First edition in English, American issue (British sheets with a new title page); 8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 304; double-page map, 32 plates from photographs; original brown cloth, gilt-stamped spine, dust jacket spine sunned, overall soiling and with a few small breaks at the extremities.
"Narrative of the author's personal experiences of the De Filippi expedition to the Karakoram in 1913-14" (Yakushi).
Yakushi D11b.
31. Early travellers in the Alps. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., 1930.
$125
First edition, 8vo, pp. xx, 204; 40 plates, 34 illustrations in text, and a folding map at the back; original dust-jacket with small breaks at the tops of the spine folds, else about fine throughout and uncommon thus.
De Beer (1899-1972) was the author of several authoritative books on early travellers in the Alps and Switzerland, touching on mountaineering" (Neate).
Neate 204.
32. The other side of Everest: climbing the North Face through the killer storm. [New York]: Times Books / Random House, [1999].
$30
First American edition, 8vo, pp. xx, 233, [3]; 35 color illustrations on rectos and versos of 8 plates, full-page map; fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket. Signed by the author on the title page.
33. Forerunners to Everest: the story of the two Swiss expeditions of 1952 ... Preface by Brigadier Sir John Hunt. English version by Malcomb Barnes. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1953].
$30
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 256; color frontispiece, 9 maps (1 double-page), 28 illustrations from photographs on 11 plates; original blue cloth stamped in white on spine, preserving the pictorial dust jacket which is a little soiled and worn at the edges with small chips, slight spotting to the prelims and terminals. In all, good and sound, or better.
Yakushi C178b: "The book is compiled from diaries of the authors. Part I narrates the story of the attempt in the spring of 1952, and part II is the autumn expedition."
34. The mountain of silver snow. Cincinnati: Powell & White, [1929].
$350
First edition, 8vo, pp. 240; map endpapers, frontispiece and 7 plates from photographs; a very good original blue cloth stamped in silver on upper cover and spine, preserving a very good dust jacket which shows some soiling and minor losses at the spine ends and corners. Uncommon in the jacket.
"Travel, customs, and descriptions of little-known Tibet ... The story in full of the Duncan and MacLeod families' thrilling experience with bandits on their way from Bantang, Tibet, to the coast" (jacket blurb).
Yakushi D348: "Missionary work in 1921-28."
35. The making of a frontier. Five years' experiences and adventures in Gilgit Hunza Nagar Chitral and the eastern Hindu-Kush. London: John Murray, 1900.
$150
First edition, 8vo, pp. xvi, 298, [4] ads; gravure frontispiece portrait, 35 plates, and a folding map printed in color; original blue cloth stamped in gilt on spine; light wear; very good, sound, and clean.
"The author, the British Agent at Gilgit in 1889-94, describes an interesting record of frontier travel, war, sport, and history of the formation of the Gilgit frontier" (Yakushi).
Yakushi D369.
36. The Everest-Lhotse adventure. New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d., [1957].
$45
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 222; 2 maps, color frontispiece and 33 illustrations on rectos and versos of 12 plates; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Yakushi E27b: "Account of the first ascent of Lhotse, and of the second and third ascent of Mount Everest in 1956, by the Swiss expedition led by the author."
37. A history of mountaineering in the Alps. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, [1977].
$15
Reprint, 8vo, pp. 296; 24 plates; yellow cloth with title in black on spine, fine.
38. Kangchenjunga: the untrodden peak ... Foreword by His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1957.
$35
First American edition, 8vo, pp. xvii, [3], 187, [1]; 2 maps, 5 diagrams, 32 monochrome plates; fine copy in a very good dust jacket with small tape repairs on spine verso.
Yakushi E115: "Account of the first ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1955 by the British party."
39. First over Everest!: The Houston-Mount Everest expedition, 1933 ... Foreword by John Buchan. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., [1934].
$25
Reprint edition, 8vo, pp. [6], 11-264; pictorial front endpapers, rear map endpapers; original green cloth stamped in gilt on spine; a good, sound, and clean copy.
Yakushi F40a: "Account of the first flight over Everest sponsored by Lady Houston in 1933."
40. Karakoram and western Himalaya 1909. An account of the expedition ... by Filippo de Filippi ... With a preface by H. R. H. The Duke of the Abruzzi. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 31 West Twenty-Third Street, 1912.
$3,000
First edition in English, American issue (English sheets with a new title page); 4to, pp. xvii, [1], 469, [1]; 24 mounted photogravures after Vittorio Sella, 5 photographic panoramas on 4 plates, 2 colored plates of minerals; original green cloth, gilt-stamped spine; covers with a few smudges but overall very good, sound, and clean.
Accompanied by the supplemental atlas volume containing 18 plates on 17 sheets, all folding, plus three maps, and the plate list and index.
A detailed and profusely illustrated account of the explorations of the Baltoro region by the Duke of the Abruzzi, during which he made multiple attempts on K2. The Abruzzi Spur on that peak is named for him, and is the standard route today. He ascended that to about 6250 metres. He also climbed Chogolisa, but was driven back by bad weather about 150 metres from the summit. Vittorio Sella's photographs of the region from the expedition are among the finest of the period.
Neate 266 (for the London edition); Yakushi F71b.
41. Bibliography of American mountain ascents. New York: The American Alpine Club Research Fund, May-46.
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. 298, [1]; very good in original gray cloth lettered in blue on spine and front cover, a few pencil ticks in margins scattered throughout.
A listing of "articles, notes, illustrations, or maps of practical value to a mountaineer" found in 11 mountaineering journals published in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and South America "through December 31, 1945."
42. The top of the world. New York and Cincinnati: The Abingdon Press, [1926].
$150
First edition, 8vo, pp. 178, [2]; frontispiece and 31 plates after photographs by the author; green pictorial cloth; fine in very good dust jacket with light soiling, some shallow chipping and closed tears, and price-clipped inner panel.
Fisher was an educator, feminist, and traveler. She was one of the founders of World Education, and the only American placed on an Indian postage stamp. From the jacket: "This volume is the record of a remarkable journey which Bishop and Mrs. Fisher took to the mountain fastnesses of the Himalayas. Using their own little shack in Darjeeling... they started back, following for a while the route of the Everest climbers, and went on to spend some time with the lamas of the lamassaries of Sikhim and Nepal to the very border of Tibet."
Yakushi F97.
43. Himalayan solo. Shrewsbury: Anthony Nelson Limited, [1982].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], 202; map endpapers, 32 illustrations (some in color) on rectos and versos of 8 plates; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Yakushi F144: "Trekking in Nepal, reminiscences of a still-active septuagenarian, and stories on birds, flowers, peoples, etc."
44. Journal of a tour through part of the Snowy Range of the Himala Mountains, and to the sources of the rivers Jumna and Ganges. London: printed for Rodwell and Martin, Bond Street, 1820.
$2,000
First edition, 4to, pp. xx, 548; large engraved folding map; contemporary marbled boards, neatly rebacked, recased, and retipped in recent brown morocco stamped in gilt on spine; the map shows some offsetting but is free of foxing; very good and sound. Without the extra folio album containing 21 plates, usually missing.
"An amazing record of a region which remained little known until the twentieth century. It provides meticulous information on a variety of subjects -- history, agriculture, flora and fauna, geology, ethnology, commerce, manufactures, mineralogy; information which was collected under conditions of extreme physical discomfort and at times danger." (M. Archer & T. Falk, India Revealed: The Art and Adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, London, 1989).
James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856) "was a Scot who in 1813 went to Kolkata (Calcutta) to join the family firm of Becher and Fraser. He remained there until 1820. In 1815, he accompanied his brother William, who was taking part in the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16, on an expedition into the Garwhal Hills to find the sources of the Jumna and Ganges rivers. James and William Fraser were the first Europeans to reach many of the places they visited, which James vividly described in this account of the journey" (OCLC).
Yakushi F191a.
45. Round Kangchenjunga. A narrative of mountain travel and exploration. London: Edward Arnold, 1903.
$950
First edition, 8vo, pp. xvi, 373, [1], [2] ads; frontispiece, large folding panorama, 3 maps (1 folding), 38 plates from photographs; original pictorial red cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; light wear, a few spots on the upper cover, spine slightly dull, front hinge slightly cracked but holding strong; in all, a very good, sound and clean copy.
"Narrative of a high-level tour round Kangchenjunga in 1899, with V[ittorio] Sella, an Italian cameraman. The author started from Darjeeling to the Zemu glacier; after crossing the Jongsang La, he entered the Kangchenjunga glacier and returned the starting point via Kang La. The map by Garwood is splendid" (Yakushi).
Yakushi 204a.
46. The exploration of the Caucasus ... with illustrations by Vittorio Stella. New York & London: Edward Arnold, 1896.
$1,500
First edition, 2 volumes, large 8vo, pp. xxiii, [1], 278; x, 290; 2 gravure frontispieces, 3 large folding paroramas, 4 folding maps (3 printed in color), including the large folding map in rear cover pocket; 76 plates (many gravure), and numerous illustrations in the text; original green cloth, spines lettered in gilt, t.e.g.; spines browned, but still a very good set.
47. Climbing high. A woman's account of surviving the Everest tragedy. [Seattle]: Seal Press, [1999].
$35
First edition in English, 8vo, pp. xvi, 211, [5]; map and 29 illustrations from photos on rectos and versos of 8 plates; remainder mark on bottom edge, else a fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket.
Gammelgaard became the first Scandinavian woman to summit Everest, but it came at a heavy cost. Eight members on two separate expeditions lost their lives that day in a fierce storm during their descent. This is the same storm Jon Krakauer writes about in his own bestselling book, Into Thin Air.
48. The Oberland and its glaciers: explored and illustrated with ice-axe and camera ... With twenty-eight photographic illustrations by Ernest Edwards, B. A. and a map of the Oberland. London: Alfred W. Bennett, 1866.
$950
First edition, 4to, pp. [2], xii, 243; double-page map, frontispiece, title-page vignette, and 26 other mounted albumen photographs (11 full-p. and 17 in the text); front free endpaper excised, binding with a few spots and stains, extremities a bit rubbed, but in all a very good copy in original pictorial green cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine, a.e.g.
Neate, G13; NYPL Checklist, 136; Truthful Lens, 74: "A 7-page chapter 'Notes by the Photographer' describes the difficulty of making wet-collodion photographs under field conditions. The author was editor of the Alpine Journal."
49. Le Cervin. Preface by Geoffrey Winthrop Young. Paris: Editions Victor Attinger, [1948].
$65
First edition, 2 vols., 8vo, Volume I ( L'Époque Héroique 1857-1867) pp. 315, [2]; volume II (Faces, Grandes Arêtes) pp. 327, [1]; 16 plates with 54 illustrations on rectos and versos; generally fine in original printed wrappers, the pages entirely unopened.
Mountaineering in the Alps.
50. The mountain men and the fur trade of the far west. Biographical sketches of the participants by scholars of the subject and with introductions by the editor. Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark, 1965-1972.
$950
First edition, 10 volumes, frontispieces in each (that in volume I in full color), folding map in volume I, illustrations throughout; a fine set in original brown cloth, gilt-lettered spine, slight wear to extremities.
A monumental effort tracing the contributions of individual "mountain men" to the westward advancement of the American frontier in the early 19th century.
51. Mountain of storms. The American expeditions to Dhaulagiri, 1969 & 1973. New York: Clelsea House, New York University Press, 1974.
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. [12], 210; 3 maps, 93 illustrations from photographs (16 in color); fine copy in original blue cloth lettered in gilt on spine, in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
In Nepal, Dhaulagiri is the sixth highest mountain in the world.
Yakushi H116.
52. Central Asia and Tibet: towards the holy city of Lhasa. London: Hurst & Blackett; New York: Scribner's Sons, 1903.
$500
First edition, American issue, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xvii, [3], 608; xiv, [2], 664; "with 420 illustrations from drawings and photographs, eight full-page coloured illustrations from paintings, and 5 maps, mostly by the author," mostly from photos but some wood engravings; the 5 maps are on 4 folding sheets; extremities lightly rubbed, a couple of small stains at the fore-edge of the front covers, but on the whole, a very good, sound set in original pictorial red cloth gilt, t.e.g.
Yakushi H100b.
53. Through Asia. New York & London: Harper & Bros., 1899.
$300
First American edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xviii, 649; xii, [2], [653]-1255; "with nearly three hundred illustrations from sketches and photographs by the author," including 2 gravure frontispieces, and 2 folding maps printed in color; original green cloth gilt, t.e.g.; volume II with some staining on upper cover and spine with some very shallow dampstaining to the last few gatherings of text; volume I with cracked front joint, as is common in this set due to the weight of the paper; very good.
One of Hedin's earlier works, an account of his travels between 1893-97 in which he traversed some 6250 miles, 2000 of them through regions never before visited by Europeans, including Northern Tibet, Pamir, and the Tarim Basin. A student of several of the local languages, Hedin was able to record for he first time many of the local geographic names which were previously unknown in the West.
Yakushi H171b erroneously noting a 1898 Harpers edition, which doesn't exist.
54. Transhimalaya. Entdeckungen und abenteuer in Tibet ... Zweeite Auflage. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1910.
$500
3 volumes, 8vo; pp. xviii, 405, [1]; x, 406; x, 390; with approx. 733 photographs, drawings, sketches, and watercolors by the author (8 in color) on approx. 207 plates, 10 maps (3 folding in color); original pictorial mustard cloth stamped in black with pictorial pastedown; a near fine, sound, and clean copy.
Hedin's account of his travels in the previously unexplored areas of the Himalayas. He tracked the sources of the Brahmaputra and Indus Rivers, endured blizzards at 15,000 feet, disguised himself as a Ladaki to escape capture by Tibetan authorities, and successfully charted the main geographical lines.
Yakushi H177.
55. Zu Land Nach Indien ... Zweiter Auflage. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1920.
$125
2 volumes, 8vo; pp. xi, [1], 407, [1]; viii, 394; 2 frontispieces, 2 folding maps inside back covers; with 306 illustrations from photographs, water-colour sketches, and drawings by the author; original pictorial mustard cloth stamped in black; text a little toned, bindings slightly soiled, else a very good, sound copy.
Hedin's journey from Tehran to India through the Persian deserts.
Second German edition of Hedin's Overland to India, first printed in Stockholm in 1910.
56. The throne of the gods. An account of the first Swiss expedition to the Himalayers. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1939.
$325
First edition, American issue; 8vo, pp. xxv, [1], 233, [3]; "with 220 plates in photogravure, 18 sketches in the text, 11 musical items, 2 panoramas and one [folding] relief map" in rear cover pocket; fine, bright copy in original green cloth, gilt-stamped spine, t.e.g., and a near fine dust jacket with slight wear at the top of the spine.
Yakushi H219b: "Account of the first Swiss Expedition to Kumaon Himalaya of 1936, led by the author. The object of the expedition was not the ascent of high peaks, although the two men climbed several summits of c. 6000 meters on the Nepal-Tibet frontier."
57. Annapurna. First conquest of an 8000-meter peak [26,493 feet] ... Translated from the French by Nea Morin and Janet Adam Smith. Cartographic and photographic documentation by Marcel Ichac with an introduction by Eric Shipton. Illustrations in color and monochrome-gravure. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1953.
$150
First American edition, 8vo, pp. [6], 5-316; folding map printed in color with black & white panorama on verso, color frontispiece, 2 color plates (1 double-page), 6 maps (2 double-page), and 24 monochrome illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 12 plates; original black cloth-backed blue cloth-covered boards, stamped in silver on spine, slight fading of the cloth at the top of the front board, else a near fine copy in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket which shows two vertical creases.
Yakushi H291b: "Account of the first successful ascent of Annapurna in 1950 by the French team."
58. High in the cold thin air. The story of the Himalayan expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary, sponsored by World Book Encyclopedia. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, 1962.
$30
First edition, 8vo, pp. [4], ix, [1], 254; map endpapers, 88 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 22 plates, many in color; near fine copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket. Previous owner's inscription on front free endpaper.
Yakushi H318: "The story of the Himalayan scientific and mountaineering expedition of 1960-61 led by the author. The first half of the book is an account of the search for the Yeti, and the second gives a description of their attempt on Makalu, containing the first ascent of Ama Dablam."
59. [Himalayas.] The top of the world. New York & Cincinnati: The Abingdon Press, [1926].
$250
First edition, 8vo, pp. 178; 32 full-p. photographic illustrations (in the pagination); a fine, bright copy in original pictorial green cloth stamped in gilt and white and gray, and preserving the original printed unclipped dust-jacket showing only the lightest wear but with one very small chip out from the top of the back panel.
An American woman traveler and photographer in the Himalayan highlands of Nepal and Sikkim.
Yakushi F97.
60. Travels in Ceylon and continental India; including Nepal and other parts of the Himalayas to the borders of Thibet, with some notices of the overland route. Appendices, I. Addressed to Baron von Humboldt, on the geographical distribution of Coniferae on the Himalayan mountains. II. On the vegetation of the Himalayan mountains. III. The birds of the Himalayan mountains ... Translated from the German. Edinburgh: William P. Kennedy, 1848.
$450
First edition in English, 12mo, pp. xii, 527, [1]; 2 folding maps; contemporary half tan calf over marbled boards, red morocco label on gilt-decorated spine; lightly rubbed; very good, sound, and clean. Bookplate of Lady Ibbetson.
The author was the traveling physician to His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar of Prussia. "Personal letters to friends by the doctor who accompanied Prince Waldmar ... on his visit to Kathmandu during February - March, 1845, and to Shipki in August" (Yakushi).
Czech, Asia, 106; Yakushi M373b.
61. Arka Tagh. The mysterious mountains. N.p.: The Ernest Press, [1994].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. [6], 154; frontispiece, 28 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 8 plates, 7 other full-page illustrations in the text including 3 maps; fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket.
62. First on Everest. The mystery of Mallory & Irvine. New York: Henry Holt and Company, [1986].
$25
First American edition, 8vo, pp. x, [4], 322; double-page map and 35 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 8 plates; fine copy in original blue cloth-backed paper-covered boards, and a fine, unclipped dust jacket which is lightly toned.
Yakushi H393b: "In 1924 Mallory and Irvine disappeared just below the summit of Everest. Did they reach the top thirty years before Hillary and Tenzing were proclaimed the first conquerors of the world's highest mountain?"
63. Himalayan journals; or, notes of a naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, &c. With maps and illustrations. In two volumes. London: John Murray, 1854.
$750
First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. [7], viii-xxvii, [5], 408; [5], vi-xii; 487, [1]; 2 chromolithographic frontispieces; 2 engraved maps hand-colored in outline, 79 wood engravings; 10 tinted lithographic plates, plus a single full-page wood engraving printed in red; bound without the errata and the publisher's ads in recent half brown morocco, gilt-lettered direct on gilt-paneled spines; overall appearance is fine.
Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911) was a close friend of Charles Darwin, to whom the volumes are dedicated. He was the first naturalist to travel into the Sikkim Himalaya, through mostly unknown territory which had not been reached by an Englishman since Turner's mission to Tibet in 1789. He made the first near complete circuit of Kangchenjunga in 1848-50, and was the first westerner to describe it. The maps were made from his own surveys and the illustrations and views are from his own drawings.
Abbey, Travel, 502; Neate H108; Wood, Vertebrate zoology, p. 390; Yakushi H399.
64. K2 the savage mountain ... Maps and line drawings by Clarence Doore. New York, Toronto, London: McGraw Hill Book Company, [1954].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. 334; 36 illustrations (9 in color) on rectos and versos of 12 plates; newspaper shadow on front free endpaper, else a fine copy in a near fine unclipped dust jacket.
Neate H118: Despite failure to reach the summit, this expedition is considered to be one of the pinnacles of American Himalayan mountaineering - a dramatic story which almost resulted in the destruction of the whole party during the descent. Yakushi H429.
65. Mount Everest. The reconnaissance, 1921. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1922.
$450
First edition, large 8vo, pp. ix, [1], 356; gravure frontispiece, 32 plates and 3 folding maps printed in color at the back, and with errata slip tipped in at p. 350; original blue cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; bookplate on verso of front free endpaper, 2 contemporary book reviews on recto of front free endpaper for The Assault on Mount Everest, bookplate of Baron Marcus Rosenkrantz on front pastedown; very good, clean and sound.
Introduction by Sir Francis Younghusband. "Official account of the first Everest Expedition of 1921. They reached the North Col and discovered the route to the top, but unfortunately they lost Dr. A. M. Kellas" (Yakushi).
Neate H-120; Yakushi H433a.
66. K2: one woman's quest for the summit. Washington, D.C.: Adventure Press / National Geographic, [2001].
$40
First edition, 8vo, pp. [10], vii, [1], 270; color illustrations on rectos and versos of 8 plates; fine copy in a fine jacket
67. The romance of mountaineering. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., [1935].
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. pp. xiv, 320, [2]; 41 collotype reproductions and maps, and 4 diagrams; nice enough copy in a price-clipped dust jacket.
68. The wonders of the Colorado Desert (southern California). Its rivers and its mountains, its canyons and its springs, its life and its history, pictured and described.... Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1906.
$500
First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo; 33 plates, 1 folding map, 1 double-page table inserted, numerous illustrations throughout text all after Carl Eytel; original beige cloth over blue cloth boards, gilt vignette on upper covers; the spines both a bit faded, and not quite uniform, the second volume with a mild dampstain at the lower spine, hinges of vol. II neatly reglued; a good set.
With a long and interesting inscription from the author on the half title "To Dr. and Mrs. Robertson, Ruth & Majorie: Dear friends, We have reveled in the delights of the Grand & Hoover Canyons together, & I hope that these pages will lead you to want to go with me, someday, into this equally wonderful & interesting region - the Colorado Desert of our own California. Cordially yours, George Wharton James."
Howes J-44.
69. Meeting the mountains. New Dehli: Indus Publishing Company, [1998].
$30
8vo, pp. 398; 41 plates and 30 maps, some folding; full blue cloth, pictorial dust jacket; dust jacket a touch soiled, corners a little bumped, else fine.
Kapadia was editor of the Himalaya Journal and honorary member of the Alpine Club London as well as vice-president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
70. Burma's icy mountains … illustrated with photographs taken by the author. London: Jonathan Cape, [1949].
$35
Second printing; 8vo, pp. 287, [1]; 2 folding maps and 15 plates; very good in original blue cloth, silver lettering on spine.
"This book records two journeys. First he describes the 1937 exploration in Northern Burma and Tibet, and he approached to the foot of Ka-Karpo-Razi, the 19,269-ft. peak that crowns the Irrawady-Brahmaputra divide. The last chapters relate to the Vernay- Cutting expedition in the mountains of the Burma-China frontier in 1938-39" (Yakushi).
Yakushi K201.
71. Account of the kingdom of Nepaul, being the substance of observations made during a mission to that country, in the year 1793. London: printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street, by W. Bulmer and Co., 1811.
$2,500
First edition, 4to, pp. [4], xix, [1], 386, [2] index, [4] Miller ads; large engraved title-page vignette, large folding map, one hand-colored aquatint and 13 engraved plates; full contemporary speckled calf, neatly rebacked with old spine laid down (minor losses at the edges), red morocco label; all else very good, sound, and but for the slightest bit of toning at the margins of a few plates, a remarkably clean copy.
Includes a 32-page English-Nepalese vocabulary (Purbutti and Newar dialects).
"An account of the first Englishman's visit to the Kathmandu Valley. The author was sent in with a small party by Lord Cornwallis as 'mediator' between China and Nepal in 1793. He also gives an historical sketch of Nepal" (Yakushi).
"In 1793, in consequence of disputes between the Nepaulese and the lama of Tibet, a Chinese army crossed Tibet, and took up a position near Katmandu, in view of the Ganges valley. The Nepaulese implored the aid of British arms. Cornwallis offered to mediate, and Kirkpatrick was deputed to meet the Nepaulese envoys at Patna, and afterwards proceeded to Nayakote, where the Nepaul rajahs held their court. The officers of the mission, Kirkpatrick and his suite, were the first Englishmen 'to pass the lofty mountains separating the secluded valley of Nepaul from the north-east part of Bengal' (p. 1). Cornwallis testified that 'no one could have acquitted himself with more ability, prudence, and circumspection" (DNB).
Yakushi K214a.
72. Into thin air. A personal account of the Mount Everest disaster. New York: Villard, [1997].
$40
First edition, 8vo, pp. xx, [4], 293, [2]; map endpapers, 4 pages of photographs, woodcut illustrations by Randy Rackliff, fine copy in the dust jacket.
73. Nilakantha: The first ascent. [New Delhi]: Vision Books, [1979].
$35
Second edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 119, [1]; ; 2 maps; very good copy in original blue cloth-backed green paper-covered boards, in a very good dust jacket.
The Indian expedition of 1961.
Yakushi K358b.
74. Eryri, the mountains of longing. San Francisco: Friends of the Earth, [1971].
$30
First edition, small folio, pp. 176, [2]; from 'The Earth's Wild Places Series', #5, photographs by Philip Evans; maps, profusely illustrated with 64 plates in color, pictorial endpapers; very good or better in original green cloth with gilt-lettered spine and upper cover, in pictorial dust jacket.
75. From Everest to the South Pole: a firsthand account of two epic journeys: the conquest of Everest and Sir Vivian Fuchs' trans-Antarctic expedition. Illustrated.. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1959.
$40
First edition, 8vo, pp. [6], vii-viii, 215, [1]; maps and photographs throughout; original blue cloth printed in gilt; dust jacket; near fine.
Spence 723.
76. The ice mirror. London: Collins, 1971.
$20
First edition, 8vo, pp. 380; original blue cloth, gilt title on spine, pictorial dust jacket; tide stain to fore-edge, not penetrating textblock, very good, dust jacket near fine. A mountain climbing adventure novel.
77. Ben Nevis. The Scottish Mountaineering Club Guide. Edinburgh: The Scottish Mountaineering Club, 1936.
$85
First edition thus, 8vo, pp. vi, [2], 101; photogravure frontispiece showing "Lochaber," 24 illustrations on 16 plates, and 9 folding panoramas; covers very slightly bowed and some spotting to top edges, else very good in somewhat rubbed and soiled jacket with a few tears and losses along edges.
This copy with "Warning to Hill Walkers" tipped on to front free endpaper. Consisting of two parts: the first being a description of the Ben and including observations on weather conditions, flora and fauna, and geologic makeup; the second being descriptions of routes for ascending the Ben, with notes rating the difficulty of each.
78. The Himalayan Journal. Records of the Himalayan Club. Volumes 1-56, complete. Calcutta, Bombay, and London: Thacker, Spink, & Co.; N.Y. & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929-1994.
$4,000
56 volumes, 8vo, the first 12 volumes in contemporary three-quarter blue cloth, paper labels on spine, all with original printed wrappers bound in, otherwise in original printed and/or pictorial wrappers; a few issues with the occasional tear or ding, one plate loose, and pencil annotations in earlier volumes, else a very good set. Numerous maps, panoramas, plates, etc., many folding, some in color; and noteworthy articles by prominent explorers on recent expeditions, logistics of expeditions, natural history, sport, surveying, geology, etc., including Sir Aurel Stein, Frank Kingdon Ward, Hugh Ruttledge, H. W. Tilman, Eric Shipton, John Hunt, T. H. Somervell, Maurice Herzog, W. H. Murray, and Sir Edmund Hillary, among many, many others. Includes many obituaries, letters to the editor, club notices, book reviews, and pertinent advertisements.
The Himalayan Club was founded in Calcutta in 1928 along the lines of the Alpine Club. The stated mission of the organization was "to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration, and to extend knowledge of the Himalaya and adjoining mountain ranges through science, art, literature and sport."
79. Abode of snow. A history of Himalayan exploration and mountaineering. New York: Dutton, 1955.
$35
First edition, American issue (British sheets with a new title page); 8vo, pp. xi, [1], 372; very good copy in a very good jacket with wear at the edges.
The first authoritative history of Himalayan exploration covering the period of the early Jesuit travelers to the first ascent by Hillary and Tenzing of Everest in 1953.
Yakushi M214a: "Very fine and most important work on the Himalayas, and Himalayan exploration and mountaineering, by the famous authority."
80. The Indian Alps and how we crossed them being a narrative of two years' residence in the eastern Himalaya and two months' tour into the interior. By a lady pioneer. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1876.
$750
First edition, imp. 8vo, pp. xiii, [3], 612; vignette title page, 10 chromolithographs and 134 woodcut vignettes in the text, all by the author; folding map hand-colored in outline; full green morocco, gilt decorated borders and spine, marbled endpapers, a.e.g.; joints and extremities rather rubbed, upper joint starting, gift inscription on preface reading "Nellie D. Montgomery presented by her Father, Jany. 1 1899"; chromolithographs offset, and opposing pages slightly discolored, including the title page.
Yakushi M255: "A lady pioneer and her companions kept along the Singaleelah range, and they reached the Chunjerma Pass traversed by Joseph Hooker."
81. [Mount Everest.] One-page autograph letter signed to 'Lara Ann'. N.p.: 1-Nov, 1977.
$450
Approx. 9" x 7", in ink, on "First Ascent of Everest - 25th Anniversary" stationery; previous folds, else fine.
"I understand from your father that he is making a collection of interesting objects from historic events and people who are - or have been - in the public eye. I hope you will accept the small token which I enclose..." The token is a Soviet Union badge of a mountaineer which Hunt details here.
Hunt, of course, was the leader of the first successful 1953 British expedition to climb Mount Everest. He was the author of The Ascent of Everest (1953), published in America as The Conquest of Everest.
82. The Scottish Himalayan expedition. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., [1951].
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 282; map endpapers, 4 color plates, 32 black & white plates, and 11 maps; front free endpaper with small Xmas inscription, else a very good copy in original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine.
Yakushi M580: "Account of the 1950 Scottish Himalayan expedition to the Garhwal Himalaya."
83. Reinhold Messner free spirit. A climber's life. Seattle: The Mountaineers, [1991].
$35
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 250; illustrated throughout, some in color; fine copy in a fine jacket.
84. Mountaineering and its literature. A descriptive bibliography of selected works published in the English language, 1744-1976.. Seattle: The Mountaineers, [1980].
$45
Small 4to; pp. 2-165; 6 b/w illustrations including frontispiece, numerous maps in text; pictorial stiff paper wrappers; very good.
85. Through Tibet to Everest. London: Edward Arnold & Co., [1927].
$275
Second impression, 8vo, pp. 302, [2] ads, 16 (ads); frontispiece and 21 illustrations from photographs on 19 plates and 3 specimens of Tibetan designs; front free endpaper excised, slight glue residue on front free endpaper, else very good, sound and clean in original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine.
"Account of the first three attempts on Everest by the photographer to the 1922 and 1924 expeditions" (Neate). Includes his "narrative of his attempt to reach Mount Everest from the north in 1913 entering Tibet via the Chorten Nyima La. But Noel was stopped by armed Tibetans" (Yakushi).
Neate N22; Yakushi N139a.
86. Spitsbergen. The story of the 1962 Swiss-Spitsbergen Expedition. Translated from the German by Oliver Coburn. South Brunswick, New York: A. S. Barnes and Co., [1966].
$35
First American edition, 8vo, pp. 191, [1]; map endpapers, 4 maps, 48 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 12 plates; fine copy in a very good or better dust jacket.
Neate 585.
87. Kangchenjunga. Imaging a Himalayan mountain. Aberystwyth: School of Art, University of Wales, 2005.
$35
First edition, oblong 4to, pp. 127, [1]; 61 color and black & white illustrations and a map; many from contemporary sources; one corner bumped, else near fine in original pictorial wrappers. There was no hard-cover version of this book.
After Everest and K2, it's the highest peak in the Himalayas.
88. [Pyrenees.] Les Pyrenees dessinées d'après nature et lithographiées par Eugène Ciceri. Luchon: Lafont, n.d. [ca. 185- ?]., .
$1,750
Oblong folio, 2 volumes in 1, lithograph title-page, 2 folding maps, and 74 lithograph plates (some folding, some double-page, one colored, and 1 tinted); original brown gilt-stamped cloth backed in brown morocco, gilt-paneled spine, all edges gilt; extremities rubbed, some foxing of the plates but largely on the versos or in the margins; otherwise, a very good, sound copy.
Première Partie: Luchon et ses Environs. Deuxième Partie: Hautes et Basses-Pyrénées.
89. The great plateau being an account of the exploration in central Tibet, 1903, and of the Gartok Expedition, 1904-1905. London: Edward Arnold, 1905.
$500
First edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 324, 14 (ads); 2 folding color maps in rear pocket (incorporating the last leaf of ads), 57 illustrations from photographs on 32 plates; original blue pictorial cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; lightly rubbed, previous owner's bookplate, but generally a very good, sound, and clean copy.
"In 1903 the author explored the Zoji La, Leh, Chang Chemmo, Lanak La, etc., with Hargreaves and Ram Singh. Then he explored and surveyed, with C. H. D. Ryder, from Lhasa to Simla by the valley of the Brahmaputra and Lake Manasarowar, as a detachment of the Younghusband's Tibet expedition in 1904" (Yakushi).
Yakushi R98.
90. Mont-Blanc jardin féerique. [Paris]: Hachette, [1962].
$45
First edition, sq. 8vo, pp. 198, [8]; illus. throughout, many full-p., a number in color; very good copy in the jacket.
91. The boldest dream: the story of twelve who climbed Mount Everest. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1979].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 244; double-page map, 19 black & white photographic illustrations on rectos and versos of 4 plates; fine copy in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
Yakushi R215a: "Narrative of the 1976 American Bicentennial Everest expedition." Due to relentless wind, only two of the twelve actually summited.
92. The last step. The American ascent of K2 ... With introduction by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Prelude by James W. Whittaker. Seattle: The Mountaineers, [1980].
$30
First edition, 8vo, pp. vii, [1], 301, [5]; 76 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 16 plates; maps in the text; fine copy in an unclipped dust jacket.
Yakushi R216: "Account of the 1978 successful American expedition."
93. Ascent: the mountaineering experience in word and image. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1984.
$10
4to, pp. x, [1], 174; black and white photographic frontispiece, illustrations throughout, text in double columns; original cloth-backed boards in black pictorial dust jacket; about fine. Review copy of the fourth volume in the Ascent series.
94. Nanda Devi. The tragic expedition. [Harrisburg, Pa.]: Stackpole Books, [1987].
$25
First edition, 8vo, pp. 239, [1]; map endpapers, frontispiece map of Nanda Devi, double-page map, and 70 photographic illustrations on rectos and versos of 16 plates; fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket.
Yakushi R350: "Account of the American expedition to Nanda Devi in 1976. They succeeded in the ascent but Nanda Devi Unsoeld lost her life."
95. Christus Judex, legend of the White Mountains. With an introduction by W.C. Prime. Boston: J.G. Cupples, [1892].
$40
First edition thus, 8vo, pp. [4], vi, [2], [7]-108, [1]; 14 plates, other illustrations in text; text printed in varying colors (brown, blue, green, yellow and purple); extremities rubbed and worn, but still a good, sound copy in original green cloth stamped in silver.
Local legend tying in the noted rock formation in the White Mountains with the Italian painter Pietro Casola and his portrait of Jesus Christ.
96. Attack on Everest. New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, [1935].
$45
First American edition, 8vo, pp. xx, [2], 23-339, [1]; frontispiece, double-page map, 43 illustrations on 16 plates (including one in 3-D; spectroscope in rear cover pocket), pictorial endpapers; original gray cloth, spine a bit discolored; clean and sound.
Official account of the 4th Everest Expedition of 1933 led by the author. Published first in London the previous year under the title Everest: 1933.
Yakushi R413b.
97. Everest: 1933. [London]: Hodder & Stoughton, 1934.
$150
First edition, 8vo, pp. xv, [1], 390; frontispiece, 58 sepia-toned plates, 4 maps (3 folding), 3 diagrams in the text; original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine; very good, sound, and clean copy.
Official account of the 4th Everest Expedition of 1933 led by the author.
Yakushi R413a.
98. Everest: the unfinished adventure. [London]: Hodder & Stoughton, [1937].
$150
First edition, 8vo, pp. [16], 295, [3]; plus 63 photographic plates, each with a descriptive caption on the verso of the preceding plate; 13 sketch portraits included in the preliminaries, 2 folding maps printed in color; bookplate on the recto of the front free endpaper, all else near fine, sound, and clean in original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine.
Official account of the 6th Everest Expedition of 1936.
Yakushi R414.
99. Four against Everest. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., [1964].
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. 259, [1]; 2 full-page maps, 35 illustrations on rectos and versos of 10 plates (some in color); fine copy in the dust jacket.
Yakushi S98a: "The amazing story of the 1962 assault on the North Face of Mt. Everest by four members via Nup La, east of Gyachung Kang."
100. Le Cervin et les hommes. Lausanne: Editions Payot, [1965].
$50
Second edition, 8vo, pp. 198, [2]; numerous photographic plates, illus. in text; very good copy in the jacket.