Nova Zembla

Sheet with four copies of the original illustrations from the travel report of the expedition of Willem Barendsz and Jacob van Heemskerck in 1596-1597 and their stay on the island of Nova Zembla. Numbered 1 through 4. Top left (1): Shooting the polar bear that had attacked two sailors, 6 September 1595. In the background, the ships off the coast. Bottom left (2): Shooting and skinning a polar bear at the Behouden Huys, 12 February 1597. Top right (3): The ship run aground and lifted by the ice, 27 August - 1 September 1596. The crew brings the boat and provisions ashore. Bottom right (4): The boat crushed by shifting ice is unloaded again, 1 July 1597.