The Iceland Journal of Henry Holland, 1810

1987

Journals G161 H2 Ser.2 no.168

London: Hakluyt Society

At a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in February 1810, it was suggested to Henry Holland (1788-1873), future physician to Queen Victoria, that he join an expedition to Iceland with Sir George Mackenzie (1780-1848). For Holland, it was an opportunity to examine some of Iceland’s 130 active and extinct volcanic mountains. He became a confirmed Icelandophile, visiting the country twice, first in 1810 and then again in 1871. In this edition, Holland ranges in topic from weather and the country’s parishes, to commerce and population. The maps, like this one of the route from Reykjavík to Hvítárvellir, were sketched by him.