COLMONT, Bernard de, Antoine de SEYNES and Genevieve de COLMONT. Trois Français en kayak sur le Colorado : voyage sur le Green River et le Colorado = Three kayaks down the Colorado River : voyage on the Green River and the Colorado River.

(France): No publisher identified, 1938.  First edition.  Softcober.  17.6cm by 24.5cm.  14 unnumbered leaves. A rare photographic record documenting the remarkable 1938 expedition of Les Voyageurs Sans Trace—a trio of French adventurers who kayaked from Green River, Wyoming, to Lees Ferry, Arizona. The group, known as les voyageurs sans trace (“travelers without a trace”), took their name from the fleeting wakes left by their kayaks. The “French Trio” consisted of newlyweds Geneviève and Bernard DeColmont, along with their friend Antoine DeSeyne. Bernard, the expedition leader, undertook the journey on assignment from the Paris Museum of Natural History to film and photograph a descent of the Colorado River. His goal was to demonstrate that such an expedition could be accomplished using fold boats—lightweight, collapsible kayaks made with wooden frames and canvas coverings. These craft represented a major innovation, being far more agile than the heavy wooden boats used by contemporary American river runners. Beginning their journey on September 13, 1938, the trio planned to navigate all the way through the Grand Canyon. However, by the time they reached Glen Canyon, they were battling freezing temperatures and an icy river. They arrived at Lees Ferry on November 9, 1938, where worsening winter conditions forced them to end their voyage. Though their expedition was cut short, their accomplishment remains significant. While Bessie Hyde preceded Geneviève DeColmont in attempting a descent of the Green and Colorado rivers, Hyde’s tragic disappearance in the Grand Canyon left her fate unknown. Geneviève, by contrast, became the first woman to successfully paddle her own kayak solo down the Green and Colorado rivers, documenting the journey through film.  A very good copy in spiral-bound wrappers with three-quarter, printed, acetate overlay. Scarce.