Amundsen, Roald:

$8,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

SYDPOLEN DEN NORSKE SYDPOLSFAERD MED FRAM 1910-1912. A lovely family presentation copy of the first edition in book form of Amundsen's historic attainment of the South Pole, inscribed to his nephew, Gustav Amundsen: "Gustav fra onkel Roald. 24.12.14."Not satisfied with becoming the first man to successfully lead an expedition through the fabled Northwest Passage in 1904, Amundsen initially turned his eyes still further north—but after the news that Peary had just achieved the North Pole, he quickly shifted focus to Antarctica, and the as-yet-untouched South Pole. He kept his plans entirely secret while his British counterpart, Robert Falcon Scott, announced his intentions for a South Pole expedition in 1909. Amundsen set off in the Fram on August 22, 1910, and only after weeks of sailing sent letters home revealing his true intentions. Fram was in the Antarctic by January 14, the crew preparing for the perilous sledge journey through the largely uncharted continent. Thanks in no small part to tactics inspired by indigenous peoples in the Arctic (such as using dogs to haul sleds and wearing furs instead of heavy, easily drenched wool), Amundsen and his party reached the South Pole on Friday, December 12, 1911, planting the Norwegian flag some thirty-four days before Scott would reach the same location. They returned to the Fram without particular incident and spent several more months surveying the ice barrier, during which time they were surprised to cross paths several times

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