This descriptive and analytic bibliography of the Luke Foxe’s 1635 book “North-West Fox, or, Fox from the North-West Passage…” was a semester-long project in the course Rare Books & Special Collections.
Through research visits to the New York Public Library Brooke Astor Rare Books Reading Room coupled with independent online research, I created a collation formula, signing statement, and pagination for the NYPL’s copy of North-West Fox, examined its physical condition and materiality, researched the binder, printer, provenance, and historical aspects of its creation and publication, and provided an estimated valuation of the book as well as an analysis of its research and exhibition value as an artifact. The report also includes a personal reflection on the experience of conducting research in a rare books room and a section of interesting elements of the book not explored in the previous sections. I incorporated citations from a wide variety of reference sources, scholarly articles, and databases.
Throughout the project, I conducted research on a myriad of interrelated book historical topics related to this copy, as well as synthesized my own original research. For scholars, collectors, or curators, having complete descriptive bibliographies building on the historical research already published is extremely helpful and insightful when engaging with this text at large and the NYPL’s copy specifically. I successfully analyze the materiality of the book and draw conclusions about the exhibition and artifactual value of North-West Fox, contributing to the field of rare books research and collecting, as well as historical research related to British colonial expansion and trade-driven exploration and their centuries-long search for the North-West Passage.
Beth Rudig 