Mountaineering
Hard Cover. London: George Bell & Sons, 1893. First Edition. Near Fine.
Illustrated by Ellis Carr. First edition. Publisher's green cloth, lettered and illustrated in black. Ownership signature of climber Michael Ward to front free endpaper (advertisement page). Near fine, with light foxing to left spine joint, a hint of wear to corners, and some offsetting to endpapers. Overall, a lovely and firm copy. Mountaineering is a "practical guide for would-be climbers" written by Claude Wilson for the All-England Series. The book sheds light on the history of mountaineering, the importance of a guide, the dangers of mountaineering, medical treatments, and more. Wilson, a respected climber, was the president of the British Alpine Club, the world's first mountaineering club established in 1857, from 1929 to 1932. This copy of Mountaineering is from the library of Michael Ward, the official doctor of the successful 1953 Everest expedition. Two years earlier, Ward made a key contribution to the 1953 climb by discovering an alternate route up Everest through his study of a trove of aerial photographs at the Royal Geographical Society. He and Hillary were part of a 1951 expedition that confirmed his theory about the viability of the alternate route. Ward's research into the importance of oxygenation and hydration, especially near the summit of Everest, also contributed to the success of the 1953 ascent. Ward wrote a number of books, including the landmark work Mountain Medicine: a Clinical Study of Cold and High Altitude (1975), and was appointed a CBE from the British Empire in 1983.
Item #CWMW001
Price: $300.00
