In the Land of the Penguins: An Account of the Voyage of the Belgica

First English Translation of 'Au Pays des Manchots'

This is an important first English translation of Lecointe’s original expedition account ‘Au Pays des Manchots’, published in 1904. Over 120 years ago a Belgian expedition set sail for the Antarctic. Under the command of Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery it was the first expedition of a purely scientific nature and it provided a wealth of information along with the first pictures ever taken on the ice. Though the explorers did not reach the Pole they were the first to overwinter in the Antarctic.

On board the ship were two famous Polar explorers, Roald Amundsen, the future conqueror of the South Pole and Dr. Frederick Cook, who already explored much of the Arctic with Commander Robert Peary and who later claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole.

Georges Lecointe was appointed first officer (and therefore second in command) on board Belgica. Lecointe was also responsible for hydrography, depth-soundings, and charting.

This was a multi-national expedition – Belgian, Norwegian, Polish, an American doctor, and a Romanian zoologist. With such a diverse crew and almost a year stuck in the ice there were problems aplenty. That all ended well was due largely to four men – Amundsen, Cook, Lecointe, and de Gerlache himself. Lecointe’s book is perhaps the most readable of all accounts of the voyage.

This is a very nice boxed set containing a separate folder of maps and pamphlet with additional photos from the expedition. See Rosove 199 for the scarce first edition.