PHIPPS (Constantin-Jean). VOYAGE AU POLE BOREAL, FAIT EN 1773, par ordre du roi d'Angleterre. Paris, Saillant & Nyon, Pissot, 1775. In-4° of 12-259-[2] pages, marbled calf, gilt fillets on covers, spine ribbed and decorated, marbled edges (period binding). First French edition of the voyage by the British explorer and naturalist Constantin-Jean Phipps to discover a faster route to India via Spitsbergen. Although the expedition was a failure, it did result in a number of scientific advances concerning knowledge of the coasts, the natural history of Spitzbergen, the use of marine clocks and the pendulum... The illustration consists of 12 plates including 3 fold-out maps and several tables of observations included in the pagination (declination of the magnet, pendulum clock, moon and Jupiter...). Binding damage. A copy with wide margins (Chadenat, 661).