#RA37
1936
148 p.: ill. 22,5x15 cm.
Original illustrated wrapper. Tear to the spine, otherwise in good condition. Book is partly uncut.
First and only edition. Extremely rare with only copy trackable at Georgian Parliamentary Library in Tbilisi.
The book is the first publication in Georgian about the Roald Amundsen – Robert Scott chase to the South Pole in 1910-1912. It was written originally in Russian by Tbilisi-based geographer Sergei Chatskin, based in Tbilisi, but the only edition to come out was in Georgian. Up until 1930s, literally no literature in Georgian existed on the polar exploration – the local bookshops carried a number of editions in Russian. However, already in 1928 the prominent Georgian poet, one of the main figures in national literature of XXth century Titsian Tabidze (1895-1937) has dedicated a poem to Amundsen, upon his death, in which he declares his admiration to the explorer and remembers how as a teenager he has followed the chase to the Pole.
This means that Tabidze, like others, were satisfying their interest in the subject by reading Russian publications, distributed through the local bookshops – already in 1927 in Tbilisi there were 29 full-time bookshops.
By late 1930s the interest in polar exploration have increased because of Soviets’ efforts around North Pole with many heroic flights and navigations highlighted by Soviet propaganda. Around the same time the publishing in national languages have increased and as a result this book has appeared.
