An auction devoted to polar art and artefacts takes place at Christie's in London this month. The auction includes pictures, books, manuscripts, artefacts and relics from the early years of polar exploration.
A highlight will be the Shackleton Collection, 100 lots of "Shackletoniana" placed earlier this year with the Scott Polar Research Institute, in keeping with Shackleton's wishes, which he made known in 1920 upon the founding of the institute.
Most lots being sold are duplicates of the items already held by the institute.
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Kilkea House, Co Kildare, on February 15th, 1874. His ancestry was from Ireland and England. He was educated in Ireland and later at Dulwich College, London.
He travelled with Captain Robert Scott aboard Discovery but returned after one winter due to scurvy. In 1914 Shackleton set out to cross the Antarctica using two vessels, Endurance and Aurora. Endurance was crushed by ice but the crew made it to Elephant Island and, due to Shackleton's initiative and bravery, was eventually rescued.
Shackleton edited Aurora Australis, published by the British Antarctic Expedition in 1908.
Never intended for sale, only 100 copies were printed. The copy Shackleton presented to his wife is included in the auction. It's desirability is enhanced as it is the only book ever published on the pole-ward side of latitude 70 degrees. It is expected to fetch between £25,000 sterling (€39,925) and £35,000 at the auction, which takes place on September 25th.
The Shackleton collection includes a family album of 155 photographs, believed to have been put together by the explorer's daughter, Cecily.
Estimated at £15,000 to £20,000, it includes a rare print developed on Endurance, close to when the ship sank on March 21st, 1915.
Shackleton carried this print for the next six months, taking it from Ocean Camp to Elephant Island, aboard James Caird to South Georgia, and on the hike across South Georgia to Stromness Whaling Station.
The print is stained from frequently being soaked on the 750-mile journey.
A tin containing the remains of a biscuit carried on the expedition inscribed "Biscuit from Expedition 1914/1916" is estimated at £2,000 to £4,000. Meanwhile, a 15 by 50 millimetre fragment of the sail of James Caird pinned to the head of a letter to Lady Shackleton is estimated at £1,000 to £1,500.
Photographs by Frank Hurley, the expedition photographer, who photographed the final moments of Endurance in the ice of the Weddell Sea and the consequent challenges faced by the crew on the floating ice, should prove a major attraction of the auction. Estimated at £30,000 to £50,000, the 193 direct positive glass lantern slides, in their original boxes, recount the visual story of the expedition.
A manuscript diary by assistant surgeon Alexander Macklin from the abandonment of Endurance to the rescue in September 1916 is expected to fetch £50,000 to £80,000. It details lists of gear, medical supplies, diet and insights into Antarctic life.
It has been used by biographers and historians as an important primary source of the expedition.
In a preface to the fascinating catalogue of the auction, Mr Nigel Watson, executive director of Antarctic Heritage Trust, a New Zealand-based charity, says: "The world's premier Antarctic collection is not for sale: this collection comprises the buildings and artefacts left in Antarctica by the early explorers, including Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, in their quests to be first to reach the Geographic South Pole".
Mr Watson notes that that collection is "in grave danger of decay", with deteriorating buildings and contents despite the best efforts of the trust to conserve "these monuments to human discovery, adventure and endurance".
Christie's website: www.christies. com Antarctic Heritage Trust website: www.heritage-antarctica.org
jmarms@irish-times.ie
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