Andrée and His Balloon

An illustrated account of a late-19th-century Swedish aerial attempt to reach the North Pole, documenting the expedition's planning, balloon construction and gas-generating apparatus, voyages to Spitzbergen, and the launch carrying three explorers. The narrative interleaves technical descriptions, biographical sketches of the leader, photographic plates, and reports of early carrier-pigeon messages that briefly indicated progress before the party's disappearance, as well as subsequent speculation and logistical challenges encountered in polar conditions. The book balances engineering detail, expeditionary narrative, and visual documentation of Arctic landscapes and equipment.