PHIPPS (Constantin-Jean). VOYAGE AU POLE BOREAL, FAIT EN 177 - Lot 202

PHIPPS (Constantin-Jean). VOYAGE AU POLE BOREAL, FAIT EN 1773, par ordre du roi d'Angleterre. Paris, Saillant & Nyon, Pissot, 1775. In-4°, 12-259-[2] pages, marbled calf, gilded fillets on covers, ornate ribbed spine, marbled edges (period binding). First French edition of the voyage by British explorer and naturalist Constantin-Jean Phipps to discover a faster route to India via Spitsbergen. Although the expedition was a failure, it did lead to a number of scientific breakthroughs: knowledge of the coastline, the natural history of Spitsbergen, the use of marine watches and the pendulum... The illustration consists of 12 plates, including 3 fold-out maps, and several tables of observations included in the pagination (declination of the magnet, pendulum clock, moon and Jupiter...). Binding damage. Copy with wide margins (Chadenat, 661).