Clissold, Anton and Emperor Penguin.

£750 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

Classic Ponting photograph from Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition (1910-1913) showing the expedition cook Thomas Clissold and Anton Omelchenko, groom to the ponies, holding an emperor penguin tied to a staff - no doubt destined for the pot. The Terra Nova expedition was supposed to be the high-water mark of the Golden Age of Antarctic exploration; led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition was to have been the first to reach the South Pole, marking the event with the planting of the Union Jack flag. However the more professionally equipped Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen got there first. Nevertheless Scott's expedition will always be the one best remembered on account of the tremendous courage and bravery shown by Scott and his companions, Wilson, Bowers, Oates, and Evans on their return from the Pole in appalling conditions - perhaps best exemplified by Lawrence 'Titus' Oates who walked from the tent into a blizzard whilst suffering from frostbite and gangrene, knowing that he was not going to survive the journey but hoping that his self-sacrifice might help the others survive. Silver gelatin print, mounted, framed and glazed, captioned below image on mount. Image size: 188 x 237 mm; framed: 255 x 301 mm.

• Binding: Hardcover

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