Allison, Thomas

Estimate

5,000 - 7,000 GBP

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Description

Allison, Thomas
An Account of a Voyage from Archangel in Russia in the year 1697. London: D. Brown and R. Parker, 1699
paper

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (170 x 105mm.), [8], 96pp., double-page engraved map, engraved plate, contemporary sheep, spine expertly repaired

Literature

Wing A1217

Catalogue Note

ONE OF THE RAREST ENGLISH NARRATIVES RELATING TO THE ARCTIC. Allison commanded the 260-tonne Ann of Yarmouth in this account of the homeward leg of a voyage to Russia undertaken for the Russia Company, the work being dedicated to its governor, Sir Benjamin Ayloffe.

After leaving Archangel the ship was prevented from rounding the North Cape by gales, and eventually sought refuge in the “Fuel”, an area of shelter between the North Cape and the Nord Kyn. Here Allison was forced to over-winter, at Porsanger Fjord, probably Saernoes Pollen. The journal provides a vivid narrative of the daily experiences and trials endured over a period of five months, during which only one man died, before leaving at the end of March 1698, and arriving at Gravesend one month later.