Very Rare 1934 The Challenge of Everest by George Joseph Cons - Original Clothbound Edition

The Challenge of Everest: An Introductory Reader to “Climbing Mount Everest,” the official Sound Film Record of the 1933 Expedition. By G. J. CONS, M.A.

A rather extraordinary and exceptionally scarce piece of mountaineering history, published in 1934, almost twenty years before Mount Everest was first successfully summited.

The Challenge of Everest was written by British geographer George Joseph Cons, a lecturer at Goldsmiths’ College, and published by the University of London Press as an educational companion to Climbing Mount Everest, the official film documenting the 1933 British Everest Expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge.

This fascinating book takes us back to a time when the summit of Everest remained unconquered, telling the stories of the earliest expeditions, the extraordinary challenges faced by mountaineers and the geography of the Himalayas. Complete with original black-and-white photographs and maps, it’s a remarkable glimpse into the golden age of exploration.

An increasingly difficult book to find, with specialist antiquarian booksellers describing surviving copies as exceptionally scarce.

This particular example is beautifully bound in its original faded blue cloth, featuring a wonderful illustration of Mount Everest on the cover. Inside, a ‘Complimentary Copy’ stamp adds another little chapter to its ninety-two-year history.

A very special find for collectors of rare books, mountaineering history and early exploration. One of those wonderful books that has survived for almost a century, preserving the stories of those who dared to venture towards the highest point on Earth.

In vintage condition, with age-related wear to the cloth cover and pages, alongside handwritten ink marks on the title page and the original ‘Complimentary Copy’ stamp. Please see photographs for details.