• Title : Vue D Une Ile de Glace L 18 Janvier 1840 (Parages Antarctiques)
• Size: 21in x 13in (535mm x 330mm)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Good Condition
• Date : 1842
• Ref #:  40417

Description:
This magnificent, large original antique lithograph print, one of the first ever views of Antarctica, specifically Terre Adélie named by D Urville after his wife, first sighted on January 18th 1840 by Dumont D Urville in the ship The Astrolabe, was drawn by Louis Le Breton, asst. surgeon & artist/draftsman aboard the Astrolabe, during D Urvilles second voyage to the South Seas between 1837 - 1840, was engraved by Léon Sabatier and was published in the 1842 1st edition of Dumont d UrvillesVoyage au Pole Sud et dans l Océanie sur les corvettes l Astrolabe et la Zélée : Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837-1838-1839-1840.
These large magnificent lithographs from the 1st edition are extremely hard to find, most only found in museums or in private hands, and due to the artistry are a must for any collection.

Léon Jean-Baptiste Sabatier active 1827-1887. French lithographer, engraver and artist.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 21in x 13in (535mm x 330mm)
Plate size: - 21in x 13in (535mm x 330mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
Between May 1838 and October 1839 d\'Urville led the ASTROLABE and ZÈLÈE on an exploring adventure across the breadth of the Pacific Ocean. The scurvy suffered in southern waters was now replaced with fever and dysentery which cost the lives of 14 men and officers during the voyage. Another six died in Hobart, Tasmania which was his departure point for his third attempt at reaching the Antarctic mainland.
On January 2, 1840 the ships were headed out to sea. Within a week, the surgeons reported a total of 16 men ill with seasickness due to the constant rolling of the seas. By January 18th they crossed the 64th parallel. At 6 o\'clock the following morning the lookouts counted half a dozen huge icebergs nearby. By 6 o\'clock that evening they were surrounded by at least 59. The hydrographer, Dumoulin, climbed the rigging of the ASTROLABE and reported \'an appearance of land\'. The belief that land was near raised the spirits of all those aboard. At 9 o\'clock the sun was still above the horizon and at 10:50 PM d\'Urville wrote that the sun disappeared \'and showed up the raised contour of land in all its sharpness. Everyone had come together on to the deck to enjoy the magnificent spectacle\'. On January 20 d\'Urville wrote \'...before us rose the land; one could distinguish the details of it...Unfortunately an unbroken calm prevented us from approaching it to make the matter certain. Nevertheless, joy reigned on board; henceforth the success of our enterprise was assured\'. Despite a light breeze, by the middle of the following day they were within four miles of land. Showing no signs of a safe place to go ashore, they turned west, following the coast, until 6 PM when a boat was lowered so that Dumoulin could take sightings from one of the icebergs. Another boat was launched from the ZÈLÈE and by 9 PM the two boats reached an islet only a few hundred yards off the coast. The officers and men struggled ashore, shoving aside penguins in the process, and planted a flag claiming the land in the name of France. The men then set about exploring the islet, searching for any life. They unfortunately found nothing but a few chips of granite which was enough to prove that they had landed on firm ground rather than an iceberg. Recording the landing and departure, officer Joseph-Fidéle-Eugéne Dobouzet wrote \'...We saluted our discovery with a general hurrah...The echoes of these silent regions, for the first time disturbed by human voices, repeated our cries and then returned to their habitual silence\'. The boats rowed back to their respective ships and Dumont d\'Urville promptly named the mainland Terre Adélie after his wife\'s name. The wide stretch of water along its shore is now known as the Dumont d\'Urville Sea.
Almost immediately the weather turned brutal with temperatures dropping to below freezing and whirlwinds of snow surrounding the ships. In the confusion, the ASTROLABE lost contact with the ZÈLÈE creating intense fear among the crewmembers of being driven into an iceberg or on top of the icepack itself. The ASTROLABE struggled in seas with waves spilling over onto her decks causing her to heel over at such an angle that the leeward battery was almost entirely covered by the sea. By January 29 the ships were moving rapidly southwest with only a few icebergs in sight. A little after 4 o\'clock in the afternoon a very surprised lookout spotted an approaching ship closing fast. The westbound vessel was the PORPOISE, the American ship of the United States Exploring Expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes. No signals were exchanged and no greetings exchanged. The PORPOISE sailed quickly to the west while the ASTROLABE headed north.
Dumont d\'Urville spent eight more months exploring southern waters. He returned to Hobart, sailed on to New Zealand, turned north to New Guinea and Timor, north again to St. Helena Island and on November 6, 1840, the two ships entered the harbor at Toulon. They had been away three years and two months.