This marvelous small brass and enamel 1/8" tall pin is undated but from the 1897 time. Below is displayed the basket while above the balloon surface is designed like the world globe with tiny white enamel area on the very top to represent polar ice and this area is marked with the tiny initials "N.P." for North Pole. Across the center of the piece is the explorer's name "S. A. Andrée." Off to the side, also in enamel is the Swedish flag, which was actually attached to the balloon itself during its brief and tragic flight. The second half of the nineteenth century is dubbed the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. This remarkable pin was produced to reflect the patriotic enthusiasm in Sweden, a nation which had fallen behind in the race for the North Pole. Andrée and his two companions lifted off from Svalbard in July 1897. The balloon lost hydrogen quickly and crashed on the pack ice after only two days. While the explorers where unhurt they were inadequately clothed, equipped and prepared to face the difficult terrain and perished around October as the Arctic winter closed in on them. Their last camp was discovered in 1930 and diaries and tins of film were recovered. With this pin, which is rare and in Mint condition, comes a photocopy from the New York Times Sunday Book Review of a book published January 27, 2012 about this famous expedition titled "The Ice Balloon/S. A. Andrée And The Heroic Age Of Arctic Exploration." See following related three lots. Mint and rare.