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Early Scientific Work on the North Pole
Single sheet, printed recto-verso, featuring two maps, the first of which is a nice map of the Artic Basin with the northernmost parts of Europe, North America, and Asia shown. There is significant scientific detail illustrated in color to represent the seasonal isotherms and polar limits for the flora of the region. The map also includes the oceanic currents, prevailing wind directions, and average temperature readings for the surface of the ocean and land of the region. A decent amount of the map is blank or loosely illustrated, likely due to the lack of knowledge of the poles during the 1850s. Note the incomplete Greenland and focus on the coasts.
Around this map are paragraphs of text that further explain the Arctic Basin. Measurements on the depth of frozen soil, a general description of the possible climate of the region, and various statistics on distances between the Arctic and other places on Earth accompany the chart of the North Pole.
The second image continues the text from the previous page and another map. This map, General Sketch Chart of the Oceanic Currents, is a colorful world map that illustrates the currents of the world's oceans and known sea impediments. In blue are the Arctic and Humboldt Currents that circulate cool water in the ocean. In red are the Gulf Stream and Equatorial Currents which move warm water through the oceans. Several small symbols are dotted across the map which indicate the presence of icebergs according to the season. Below India is an area simply labeled Hurricane region. In the center of the Atlantic is a large mass of seaweed, presumably of the free-floating Sargassum family.
![[Nova Zembla]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/75007.jpg)
![[Glaciers & Polar Ice Packs, etc.] Arctic Ocean Greenland](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/79033.jpg)
![[Rare Second State] Poli Arctici, et Circumiacentium Terrarum Descriptio Novissima](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/93127.jpg)
![[ Antarctica ] [Signed and Annotated by Robert A. English, Commanding Officer of the Bear of Oakland] Reconnaissance Map. King Edward VII Land. The Northern Part of Marie Byrd Land. Based mainly on air photographs taken by Capt. A.C. McKinley on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition 1928-1930 . . .](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/89439.jpg)