Page of the 'South Polar Times' March 21 to April 18

Date1902

Object number00054130

NameLantern Slide

MediumGlass, ink on paper

DimensionsOverall: 82 x 83 x 3 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA black and white image showing a page from the South Polar Times. Each edition of the paper, begun in 1902 on the DISCOVERY expedition, ran from 30 to 50 pages and included numerous drawings, caricatures of the team, and whimsical observations of life in Antarctica, cartoons, weather reports, news, poetry, puzzles and scientific essays. Often there were watercolours of the polar landscape by the zoologist Edward Wilson, a talented painter and official artist of the journey. The paper was edited by Ernest Shackleton and as there was no printing press available, the single copy was passed hand-to-hand. The page depicted in this slide is titled "Events of the Month," recounting the outset of the DISCOVERY expedition. The entire crew was invited to contribute words and pictures and the South Polar Times became an important part in relieving the boredom and monotony of months stuck in the winter ice.HistoryAlthough not originally intended for publication, a collected South Polar Times was eventually compiled on the return of the DISCOVERY. The 3-volume anthology was printed in limited editions by Smith, Elder and Co. of London, 1907-1914. In the preface to volume 1, Robert Falcon Scott writes: "The owner of these volumes will possess an exact reproduction of the original ‘South Polar Times’ which appeared month by month during the winters of 1902-3, produced as they were for the sole edification of our small company of explorers in the DISCOVERY, then held fast in the Antarctic Ice. No attempt has been made to re-edit the text or to supply explanatory notes, and therefore it would be unfair to those who were responsible for it to omit mention of the circumstances under which the original volumes came into being. In March 1902 we were busily preparing for our first Antarctic winter as we watched the sun sinking towards its long rest. We knew that daylight would shortly disappear for four whole months, and our thoughts turned naturally to the long dark period before us and the means by which we could lighten its monotony. And so it was in this month that we met in council around the ward-room table to discuss the first Antarctic Journal; then and there we christened it, suggested its general lines, and appointed Mr. Shackleton as editor to guide its destiny. Our Journal, we decided, should give instruction as well as amusement; we looked to our scientific experts to write luminously on their special subjects, and to record the scientific events of general interest, while for lighter matter we agreed that the cloak of anonymity should encourage the indulgence of any shy vein of sentiment or humour that might exist among us. Above all, the ‘South Polar Times’, as we had determined to call it, was to be open to all; the men as well as the officers were to be invited to contribute to its pages." (Bartalos, Michael. The Long View. January 24, 2009.) [https://www.calacademy.org/blogs/the-long-view/scotts-discovery-hut-part-2-the-south-polar-times] SignificanceThe collection of slides of Antarctic voyages compiled by Charles Ford documents aspects of the technical and geographical mapping work, personal challenges, daily lives, social dynamics and the landmarks, icescapes, waterscapes and environments the men encountered.