Bill Gifford wrote Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer in 2007. He traveled across Siberia in pursuit of his subject and was not deported. Much of what we know of Ledyard’s life is in letters to his cousin and confidant, Isaac, many of which reside in Rauner Library. Ledyard did much of his writing at night with a pipe and a glass of burgundy—and sans pants. This “unconstrained situation,” he informed his relative, “is certainly a proof that I write without disguise.”

Illustrations by Peter and Maria Hoey