London: Sampson Low, Marston. Searle and Rivington Limited, 1st Edition. 4to, 15' tall. Cloth. 180 pp., numerous plates from photographs by Captain Abney. Original maroon cloth with decorative gilt, some light wear to extremities, internally very clean, endpapers foxed but not plates or pages. Very Good-Fine. Very scarce.
Biographical sketches of the great early Alpine guides illustrated by Abney's superb portraits. Cunningham was an early advocate of Scottish winter climbing.
Contains: Growth and development of mountaineering: 1387-1885 (4 periods) / Alpine accidents / Mountaineering without guides / Mountaineering in winter / Ice-axe and rope / Guidecraft.
The Portraits: (Swiss) Guides of the present day: Melchior Anderegg / Johann von Bergen / Johann Jaun / Ulrich Lauener / Christian Lauener / Christian Almer / Johann Baumann / Peter Baumann / Ulrich Almer / Ulrich Kaufmann / Josef Imboden / Aloys Pollinger / Peter Knubel / Alexander Burgener / François Dévouassoud / François Couttet / Michel Payot / Alphonse Payot / Edouard Cupelin / Jean Joseph Marquignaz / Jean Antoine Carrel / Emile Rey //
In Memoriam: (13 other swiss guides.
Most of the high quality photographic plates are portraits of the guides. The author spent much interest in the 'golden age' of alpinism (1855-1865), which started on the 17th of September 1854, by the first ascent of the Wetterhorn from Grindelwald and is 'a red-letter day' in the history of modern mountaineering. The Golden Age ended with Whympers Ascent of the Matterhorn.
