8 chromoxylographic plates, 3 folding maps, numerous woodcuts, 8vo, cont. full prize calf, marbled edges and endpapers, gt double rule to borders, raised bands and gt tooling to spine; rubbed/lightly scuffed. Occasional minor foxing/spotting. Gilt crest of Wellington College to front board. A handsome copy. 2nd edition. Attractive tinted wood engravings. Georg Hartwig (1813–80) was a German scientific writer who produced many popular works on geographical and natural history topics, among them this book; unusually for the period, it surveyed exploration in the Antarctic as well as the Arctic. Hartwig's intention is 'to convey solid instruction under an entertaining form', combining the history of exploration with descriptions of the polar regions explored by the mid-century, including Siberia as well as the islands and ice packs of the Arctic Ocean. In this very readable work, Hartwig describes geography, geology and climate, as well as the survival strategies of plant, animal and human life in an extreme environment, using a very wide range of earlier published material to create an integrated narrative. [34700]