Everest 1933 First Edition - Hugh Ruttledge - Bauman Rare Books

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Everest 1933

Hugh RUTTLEDGE

Item#: 112776 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Everest 1933

Everest 1933

“WHERE THERE WAS NO FIXED ROPE, HE SEEMED UNABLE TO SEE THE TRACK AND KEPT WANDERING ALL OVER THE SLOPES, WHICH FRIGHTENED ME AS THE SNOW SEEMED READY TO SLIDE ON THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION”: RUTTLEDGE’S ACCOUNT OF THE 1933 EVEREST EXPEDITION

RUTTLEDGE, Hugh. Everest 1933. London: Hodder & Stoughton Limited, 1934. Thick octavo, original blue cloth, original dust jacket.

First edition of Ruttledge’s account of the 1933 Everest expedition, the first under his command, with over 50 photographic plates and with three large folding maps highlighted in color.

The official account of the fourth expedition to Everest, led by Ruttledge and with a team that included Frank Smythe, Eric Shipton, Wyn Harris, and L.R. Wager under the aegis of the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club. Harris and Wager made a summit attempt from the famous Camp VI, reaching 28,200 feet in attempting to determine whether the northeast ridge was capable of being climbed. During this climb, they came upon the ice-axe of either Mallory or Irvine, lost nine years previously on their fateful climb. The ridge could not be climbed, and the two had to traverse the face instead. On the return to high camp, Wager struggled to the crest of the ridge and became the first man to look down the awesome east face of Everest. Ruttledge would also lead the Royal Geographical Society's 1936 Everest expedition, which was defeated by bad weather. With chronology of the expedition and an index. Neate 675.

Interior quite clean, just a bit of discoloration to cloth, near-fine; scarce dust jacket mildly toned, with one tape reinforcement to verso, exceptionally good. A very nice copy.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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