Published by Hachette (1904)

Text in FRENCH

Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi (29 January 1873 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly Infante of Spain as son of Amadeo I of Spain, member of the royal House of Savoy and cousin of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. He is known for his Arctic explorations and for his mountaineering expeditions, particularly to Mount Saint Elias (Alaska–Yukon) and K2 (Pakistan–China). He also served as an Italian admiral during World War I.

In 1898, Prince Luigi Amedeo organized an expedition towards the North Pole and consulted the famous polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen that had sailed the furthest north with the Colin Archer built polar ship Fram in 1893-96. In 1899 Amedo acquired the Jason, a steam whaler of 570 tons. He renamed her Stella Polare and took her to Colin Archer's shipyard in Larvik, Norway. The interior was stripped out and beams, diagonals and knees heavily strengthened the ship.

In spring 1899 he arrived in the Norwegian capital Christiania (the present day Oslo) with 10 companions and Stella Polare (“Pole Star”) took the expedition through the frozen sea. On 12 June they headed for Archangel (Arkhangel’sk).
The Stella Polare was trapped and threatened to sink. The crew were obliged to land with the utmost haste and to secure materials for building a dwelling.

On 30 June the Stella Polare dropped anchor in the docks of Arkhangel’sk and the duke was solemnly received by governor Engelhardt. The same day, Prince Luigi Amedeo was invited to meet the local authorities and the present foreign diplomats.

On 7 July, a local newspaper wrote:

    The city theatre arranged an extraordinary spectacle in the presence of the Duke of the Abruzzi. The drama The princess of Baghdad, consisting of three acts, was performed. Before the curtain was raised the orchestra had played the Italian royal anthem…

Later the duke himself wrote about his stay in Arkhangel’sk: "Our departure was set for July 12. Early in the morning the church was open to us and we, although being Catholic, were allowed to join the mass. In the afternoon all the dogs were brought back on board to their kennels. In the evening the Stella Polare put out and was escorted by two steamers down the Dvina. I still remained on shore, as well as Doctor Cavalli, in order to spend the evening together with our Italian friends. Next evening we left Arkhangel’sk. During the whole journey we saw flags being hoisted to welcome us…"

Twenty men took part in the expedition, among them Captain Umberto Cagni, Lieutenant F. Querini and Doctor A. Cavalli Molinelli. They planned to go to Franz Joseph Land, in the Arctic wilderness, to establish a camp in which to stay during wintertime and, afterwards, to reach the North Pole by dogsled across the frozen sea.

Prince Luigi Amedeo established the winter camp on the Rudolf-Island. The expedition was to start at the end of the Arctic Night. The duke lost two fingers during winter because of the cold, which made it impossible for him to join the trip by sled. He left the command over the pole expedition to Captain Cagni. On 11 March 1900 Cagni left the camp and reached latitude 86° 34’ on 25 April, setting a new record by beating Nansen’s result of 1895 by 35 to 40 kilometres. Cagni barely managed to return to the camp on June 23. On 16 August the Stella Polare left the Rudolf-Island heading south and the expedition returned to Norway. During the expedition the northern coast of Rudolf-Island and two other islands were explored and measured.

From the estate of:  Pedro Gerardo María Beltrán Espantoso (17 February 1897–16 February 1979), was a Peruvian journalist, economist and politician. From 1959 to 1961, he was the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance under Manuel Prado Ugarteche.

7 1/2 x 10 inches

See photos for condition details.  Namestamp.  Foxing, lower spine bumped, shelf wear. 

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