Description

This two-volume work by the nineteenth-century Arctic explorer and artist Julius von Payer (1841-1915), originally published in German and translated into English almost immediately in 1876, documents his experiences during the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition, which he commanded from 1872 to 1874 with his colleague Karl Weyprecht. Early into the expedition, of which the original aim was to find a north-eastern passage, their ship, the Tegetthoff, became trapped in ice, and its resultant drifting into unknown territories led to the discovery of Franz-Josef Land. Volume 1 explores the climate and terrain of the Arctic region, the navigational strategies employed by the crew, and the challenges they faced as perilous conditions led them to abandon ship. The author also pays tribute to Weyprecht for his courageous attempts to free the vessel. The work contains both maps and paintings, the latter by von Payer himself.