SPLENDID LARGE ORIGINAL HALF-TONE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON SCOTT’S DISCOVERY EXPEDITION (1901-1903)
SCOTT, Robert F. Original sepia halftone photographic print of Discovery, taken to illustrate Scott’s Voyage of the Discovery (but not used). No place: no date. Original sepia halftone, measures 11-1/2 by 8-3/4 inches, contemporary mount measures 13-3/4 by 11-1/2 inches.
Original half-tone sepia photograph depicting the Discovery, with pencil caption on the verso, “Ship Tied up to the Great Ice Barrier in mizzen rigging. Sheep and Seals for food.”
This documentary photographic image of the Discovery was taken (but not used) to illustrate Robert Scott’s account of the first expedition to undertake extensive overland investigations of Antarctica. Over the course of two years, Scott and his men followed the Ross Ice Shelf to its eastern extreme, discovered King Edward VI Land, found a range of mountains stretching southwards toward a vast plateau, trekked to within 500 miles of the South Pole, and amassed a huge collection of scientific data. Scientifically speaking, this was the more important of Scott’s two expeditions, although historically it is overshadowed by his tragic second journey, during which he perished. Discovery was “the last great British wooden sailing ship, specially built for the expedition” (Piggott, 65).
Photograph fine. Minor wear to margins of original mount.