Although my background is in Neurophysiology, I have not desired to collect publications bearing on that topic (given that the relevant resources reside, in sufficient multitudes, on my office bookshelf).Instead, I have found myself pursuing an eclectic assortment of books and ephemera. At first glance, these seem unrelated; however, they actually are connected by a “neural network” of shared etiology.
Spending holidays in the maritime of New England, I often encountered vestiges of the 18th and 19th century whaling industry, and became fascinated by the adventures of those hearty whalers in pursuit of the leviathan of the deep. This led me to follow the paths of whalers, particularly those that ventured into the Polar regions, with a particular fascination with the Antarctic. Further to this, I was captivated with the late 19th and early 20th century polar explorers… Amundsen, Scott, Nansen and, of course, Ernest Shackleton. Upon returning from his epic voyages to Antarctica, Shackleton tried to recoup investors’ contributions by going on the lecture circuit, and publishing the stories of his adventures. These books proved quite popular and profitable, and endure as both historical and popular accounts.
Through these books, I experienced, vicariously, the harrowing adventures of these brave (some might say, foolhardy men).I have managed to gather a fair-sized representation of Shackleton literature, I have provided only a few examples for display at The Grolier Club’s New Members Collect exhibition.
Ernest Henry Shackleton. The Heart of the Antarctic 1907-09, and The Antarctic Book. London: William Heinemann, 1909.
Volumes I and II numbered 234 of 300 copies, gilt embossed full vellum, with three folding maps and a folding panorama scene, The Antarctic Book, [Volume III] half vellum, one of 300 copies signed by every member of the shore party.
Ernest Shackleton wrote this book on returning from his Nimrod expedition to Antarctica in 1909. His disappointment at being invalided home from Scott’s earlier Discovery expedition, goaded him on to organize this truly heroic exploit. In this book, he relates his own story of the party of men who discovered the Beardmore glacier and reached a furthest point south, enduring a 4-month march of 1755 miles. Also included are the narratives of the men who made the first climb of the volcano Mount Erebus (13,370 ft), as well as those who were the first to reach the magnetic south pole, after marching 1,260 miles). These milestones were accomplishedby men in sub-zero temperatures and horrific blizzards. They largely sled-hauled their own food and equipment. As was the case with many of the early British expeditions, they also advanced the knowledge of this largely unknown continent, mapping terrain, studying climate, collected geological specimens, and photographed their surroundings, returning home with a rich heritage of scientific achievement.
The South Polar Times. Edited by Sir Ernest Shackleton and Louis Bernacchi, with a preface by Captain Robert Scott. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1907-14.
Six parts in three vols., vol. I and II copies no. 32 of 250 copies and vol. III no. 14 of 350 copies, six aquatint frontispieces, colored title in vol. I, numerous plates, plans and maps, many in color, by E.A. Wilson, copious illustrations in the text, many in color, original pictorial blue cloth, color illustration of the Discovery on front covers, gilt edges, 4to. In 2013, the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) issued volume IV (500 copies).
The South Polar Times was a magazine created by the crew of the two Antarctic expeditions led by British Naval Captain Robert Falcon Scott in the early 20th century: the Discovery Expedition (1901–04), and the Terra Nova Expedition (1910–13). It documents, first-hand, many personal aspects and experiences of Antarctic exploration, and highlights some of the physical and psychological hardships the men suffered. It was established, in part, to entertain the crew and bolster morale. Each member of the crew was encouraged to contribute. The magazine combined watercolor paintings, cartoons, photographs, along with weather reports, essays, and other colloquial and scientific observations. Each completed issue of the magazine was read aloud to all men on the expedition upon the completion of each contributor’s work. Illustrations were created by hand, and all text was generated by typewriter.
Volumes I, II and III were published in London in 1907 and 1914 upon the return of the ‘Discovery’ and ‘Terra Nova’ expeditions respectively. They reproduced copy imagery from the one original, typewritten, magazine.
Ernest Henry Shackleton. South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition. New York: Macmillan, 1920.
South describes the progress of Shackleton’s ship, Endurance through pack ice in the Weddell Sea (1914 – 1916). The ship was trapped by pack ice and drifted with it, and eventually, the hull was crushed, and the ship sank. The party camped on the ice which drifted north; when the ice no longer supported them they took to three lifeboats from the ship and made for Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others, in one of the boats, the James Caird, made the hazardous sea journey to South Georgia Island, where Shackleton and two others crossed the mountainous interior of the island to reach a Greenlandic whaling station. The men who had remained on Elephant Island were rescued by a small ocean-going tugboat lent to Shackleton by the Chilean government. All 27 men from the Endurance survived.
In 2020, I ventured to Antarctica and retraced Shackleton’s steps over the mountain on South Geogia. A life-changing experience.
