Heavy-duty Old North Pole Exploration Map, 1896 By Us Navy - Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, Arctic Circle Explorers Next Gen [hGrMNI0w]

This fascinating and rather rare map, published by the United States Navy in 1896, shows the progress of Arctic Exploration up until 1895.

By the 1890s there was a rather heated race to the North Pole, with multiple teams and countries trying to get there first. They wouldn't get there for sometime - not until 1926 when a bunch of Norwegians flew an airship up there.

There's an immense amount of detail on this map, showing dozens of attempts at exploring or crossing the arctic ice cap.

Intriguingly, this map may have actually been a piece of propaganda from the US government. When this map was published in 1896, a Danish expedition had come the closest to reaching the North Pole. But this map seems to have ignored that, instead showing the record set in 1895 - by some US explorers, of course.

This map looks great at all sizes, though it definitely looks even better when printed large - because the original map was very large. I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 70 inches (180cm) wide. Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.

This would make a wonderful birthday, work leaving, housewarming, Christmas or Father's Day gift for someone from the Arctic Circle or who has historical interest in geography, cartography and human exploration.

You can order the map itself, or you can order a framed version. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that really makes our maps pop out when on a wall. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame. We use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) in our frames - it's less reflective than glass and better for transport.