Zephyr Used and Rare Books latest catalogue is Spring to Summer – June 2026. The summer solstice is as good a reason as any to get some new old books and ephemera, so go ahead. There's some fascinating material here, generally uncommon, occasionally unusual. These are a few samples, but there is much more, 145 pages worth.
Robert Peary was long considered the conqueror of the Arctic, the first to reach the North Pole. He led an expedition in 1909 and came back claiming to have reached the Pole. He had to overcome a contemporary challenge as fellow explorer Frederick Cook said he reached the Pole in 1908, but his claim has been dismissed as a fraud. In more recent years, Peary's claim has been challenged too. Peary was no fraud. He put in years of hard preparation to meet the challenge, but based on log books and statements, some now question whether he actually reached the North Pole. He reached someplace very far north, but it is now disputed whether that was the farthest place north on the globe. There have also been challenges raised about whether his compatriot, Mathew Henson, was the first to step on the spot they considered the Pole rather than Peary. Henson did much of the work of learning the Inuit ways and communicating with them, essential to success in the far north, and many other important tasks. However, Peary was not high on sharing credit, and that was particularly true of sharing it with a Black man. Henson was Black. Racism was extreme everywhere in America then. But, as noted, Peary put in the work necessary to make a serious attempt on the Pole. For two decades before, he led several expeditions to Greenland to learn how to operate in the extreme cold. Later, he made a run at the Pole but fell a little short before his final, and maybe successful run. Here is a book about one of his Greenland expeditions, this one in 1892, by a fellow explorer not someone you might expect. It was Peary's wife, Josephine Diebitsch-Peary. She helped her husband, who broke a leg in Greenland. She cooked, hunted reindeer, and helped fight off walruses that attacked the expedition. Also on the journey was Matthew Henson, who would be with Peary many more times, and Frederick Cook, who later tried to steal his thunder. The title is My Arctic Journal. A year among ice-fields and Eskimos. With an Account of the Great White Journey across Greenland... published in 1894. Item 64088. Priced at $100.
Years before, 1897, S.A. Andrée, Nils Strindberg, and Knut Fraenkel attempted to reach the North Pole without trudging through all the miles of ice and cold. They attempted to reach the Pole by balloon. Being Swedish, they were used to cold weather, though not on quite the same scale. The flight was short. It only lasted about ten hours when storms forced them to bring the balloon down. They had several months worth of food and sledges but pulling them over uneven ice was wearying. They survived over two months but were unable to reach rescue and all eventually perished. They weren't located until 1930. Their account is Andrées Story. The Complete Record of His Polar Flight, 1897. From the Diaries and Journals...Found on White Island in the Summer of 1930..., published in 1930. Item 64095. $200.
Zephyr usually has some automobile travel catalogues and maps in their collections, but this one is not like the others. It is an auto guide for the Soviet Union, From Moscow to Yalta (guide for motorists), by Alexander Adveenko, published in 1968. This particular trip stayed within the Russian Federation, as the Soviet Union included several now independent countries, including Ukraine whom Russian wishes to no longer be independent. This guidebook offers tips on hotels, location of gas stations, restaurants, camping and beaches. It's what you might expect from the AAA except it would have to be RAA. This was still early in the rule of Leonid Brezhnev who was trying to install some reforms to the Soviet system. That did not last for long as Brezhnev invaded Czechoslovakia that same year and consolidated his authoritarian power. There's not much good that can be said about him from a Western point of view other than at least he wasn't Stalin. Item 64172. $100.
This next item touches on a tough form of road travel in America today, though it was better than. The Greyhound Map of Amazing America: natural and man-made wonders reached best by Greyhound and principal connecting bus lines... was published in 1941. Back then, it was the travel choice for many tourists, rather than for people trying to find the least expensive way to get from Point A to Point B. It features small images of various sites along the way. The focus is not so much on the great national parks and historic sites as on the oddities to be seen on the trip. Listings and descriptions of these places are found on the verso of the map. Greyhound may no longer be the preferred way to see these sites, but you might want to follow their map on your next see-America auto trip. Item 64221. $200.
It's not surprising that Charles Darwin is remembered for one particular book, considering its monumental importance to understanding us and our origins. This was his last book and perhaps its title isn't quite as appealing as Origin of Species – The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Just doesn't have the same appeal. He describes the essential role of earthworms in eating organic matter and turning it into fertilizer, along with aerating the soil. Darwin calculated from worm casings that 18 tons of soil per acre were brought to the surface every year by worms. Does that sound possible? Actually, it appears to be an underestimate. Darwin was on to something, whatever it was. Item 64091. $350.
Zephyr Used & Rare Books may be reached at 360-695-7767 or zephyrbook@gmail.com.
