WHYMPER (Edward). Scrambles amongst the Alps in the years 1860-69. London, John Murray, 1871. In-8°, full brown and black chagrin binding, rich gilt and blind-stamped ornamentation, scrolls on the fields, inner lace and scroll, gilt edges. First edition of this monument of Alpine literature: one of the 20 first copies with Whymper's handwritten justification: "This copy of Scrambles amongst the Alps is one of the twenty which were picked sheet by sheet and plate by plate for the earliest impression and were sold at three guinees each, unbound. Edward Whymper, June 20/71". This first edition was printed by R. Clark, Edinburgh (mentioned on the last page). The preface is dated May 1871. The title page bears no further mention of the edition. The illustrations consist of 20 hors-texte plates (including the frontispiece), a fold-out geological section and five fold-out maps at the end of the volume, and 90 vignettes in the text by Edward Whymper. Accounts of Whymper's ascents, in particular his attempts on the Matterhorn and the dramatic first ascent. Edward Whymper (London 1840 - Chamonix 1911) is probably the best-known mountaineer of all time. The son of a painter and engraver, he apprenticed as a draughtsman and engraver in his father's studio. He attended Albert Smith's diorama of his ascent of Mont Blanc at the Egyptian Hall and was fascinated by the spectacle. He made his first trip to the Alps in 1860, working for the publisher Longman to illustrate the second series of Peaks, passes and glaciers. It was during this first trip that he had the revelation of the Matterhorn. Although he owes his fame mainly to the tragic story of the conquest of this famous peak, it has to be said that he accomplished many other Alpine feats, making the first ascents of many great summits: the Barre des Écrins, the Aiguille Verte, the Grandes Jorasses (summit O.), Mont-Dolent, the Aiguille d'Argentière, the Grand Cornier and, in the Andes of Ecuador, the Chimborazo; this non-exhaustive list gives an idea of Whymper's qualities as a mountaineer. The tragedy of the Matterhorn had a profound effect on him; a rather shady character, he led a solitary life, despite a failed late marriage. This did not prevent him from remaining faithful to the Alps, particularly Zermatt and Chamonix, which he described in two well-documented and illustrated guidebooks. He died in his hotel room in Chamonix. An exceptional copy of one of the most famous works on the mountains, the first edition of which has become very rare. Perret 4557 - Regards sur les Alpes 88 - Waeber I, 65 - Coolidge 210