Tower of Pelée

Born in Hungary, the geologist Angelo Heilprin (1853-1907) moved with his family to the United States as a boy. He later left New York to study natural sciences in distinguished European institutions, and went on to hold academic positions in Philadelphia and ultimately at Yale. His teaching duties were interspersed with expeditions to Yucatan, Greenland and other places of geological interest. This 1904 study, complemented by unique photographs, depicts his third visit to the island of Martinique in the aftermath of the devastating eruptions of Mount Pelée in 1902. Heilprin documents the temporary formation of Pelée's 'tower', a monolith of lava that grew rapidly after the eruptions, reaching a height of 300 metres before its collapse. Heilprin also summarises the chief features of volcanic eruptions and directs readers to his 1903 publication Mont Pelée and the Tragedy of Martinique (also reissued in this series) for further information.