'Portrait'

This portrait was taken aboard the Endurance by the Australian, Frank Hurley, late in 1914. Sir Ernest H. Shackleton was 40 years old and had embarked on his 4th expedition to the Antarctic. On the journey from South Georgia to the Weddell Sea he sat for this portrait wearing a wool sweater and a pair of fur sledging mitts attached to a harness so that they would not be lost.

Described by many of his contemporaries and historians as one of the greatest polar explorers ever, Shackleton led 3 Antarctic expeditions after going south on the Discovery in 1902. Shackleton was knighted after the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909 when he got to within 97 miles of the South Pole, and was the first to find a gateway through the Trans-Antarctic mountains.

He is best remembered for his heroic leadership of the Endurance Expedition (1914-1916) in which he brought all 27 men back to safety after their ship was crushed by sea ice.

This poster bears a quote from Shackleton, “Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour”.

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'Mrs. Chippy & Peirce Blackborow'

Nineteen year old Welshman Peirce Blackborow joined the Endurance when it docked in Buenos Aires on its way south. Blackborow had been rejected by Shackleton as he was seen to be too young and too short on experience for the expedition.

With the help of his friend William Bakewell, who had just been hired, and Walter How, Blackborow stowed away in a locker in the fo’e’sle.

Discovered seasick, tired and hungry three days after the Endurance had set sail from Buenos Aires, Blackborow was harshly dressed down by Shakleton in front of the crew. Shackleton finished by whispering in Blackborow’s ear, “Do you know that on these expeditions we often get very hungry, and if there is a stowaway available, he is the first to be eaten?”

Mrs. Chippy was the male cat of ship’s carpenter Henry McNish. The cat got its title from the traditional nickname for a carpenter, ‘Chippy’. Mrs. Chippy quickly became the ships mascot but caused quite a ruckus with the sled dogs.

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'Leonard Hussey & Samson'

In this image, Londoner Leonard Hussey, at age 23, the expedition’s meteorologist and smallest man, is hoisting Samson, the largest sled dog. The full grown pup to the left is Nell, one of th pup’s born aboard the Endurance.

Hussey’s banjo playing was a life saver for many of the crew members, especially as the going got tougher and tougher. The banjo was the only large personal item Shackleton allowed to be taken with the men when they were forced to abandon ship.

Orde-Lees wrote of Hussey in his Diary, “He is a lean joist of unusual merit and it is very pleasant to have music of any kind down here; his banjo repertoire is sufficient to prevent his tunes becoming too monotonous… Hussey is one of our smallest members but he makes up in energy what he lacks in stature”.

 

 

 

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'Endurance'

This photograph of the Endurance is one of the most famous and enduring images to come out of Shackleton’s expedition.

In his diary entry for August 17 1915, photographer Frank Hurley wrote, “During the night take flashlight of ship beset by pressure. This necessitated some 20 flashes ... no less than 10 flashes being required to satisfactorily illuminate the ship itself. Half blinded after the successive flashes, I lost my bearings amidst the hammocks, bumping my shins against projecting ice points and tumbling into deep snow drifts.”

The Endurance was beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea in January 1913. The men wintered onboard (when this photograph was taken) until spring when she was crushed by the ice. She sank on November 21, forcing the men to take refuge on the ice.

All hope of crossing the Trans-Antarctic were shattered. Shackleton gathered his men and without emotion said, “… (the) ship and stores have gone – so now we’ll go home.”

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'Against all odds' After the Endurance was crushed and sank the expedition was faced with getting to the Antarctic Peninsula, 6004 kms to the west. Dog teams ferried small loads of supplies from the ship while another party headed down impossible ice; behind them came the rest of the men hauling the heavy James Cairn. On the first day they travelled less than one mile – a backbreaking effort. But there were many more days of hauling ahead. The going was horrendous and their pace demoralizing so they established Ocean Camp. After a month’s waiting they resumed the march, but the conditions on the ice had worsened. Two days later Shackleton called an end to the march and established Patience Camp. Here they waited for almost 3½ months, bringing their drift to over 1000 miles before they could launch the boats and row for land. Price:  $45 (unframed)    $280 (unframed)                                                                           more info / order

'Shackleton’s great open boat journey'

After reaching the safety of Elephant Island, Shackleton was faced with a daunting reality – no outside help knew where they were, let alone that they could still be alive. To ensure the rescue of his men, Shackleton had to make a dash for help in the boat James Caird.

Their only option was to make for the tiny island of South Georgia. They were faced with a treacherous journey across 1500 km of the stormiest seas in the world, at the beginning of winter. In all probability, such an open boat journey was going to amount to suicide. But they had no other option. Every day of delay brought with it the prospect or worsening weather.

Six of the men, led by Shackleton, would depart as soon as everything was ready. On April 24th, 1918, after four days of intense preparation, the Caird was ready and the weather broke. Under favourable skies, the little boat was launched in the breaking surf.

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'Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition'

While marooned, Shackleton’s ship “Endurance” drifted over 3200 km in the ice of the Weddell Sea. On the way, a huge mass of ice was encountered that they dubbed the “Rampart Berg”. Shackleton estimated the iceberg to be 60m high, twice the height of the Endurance.

The ship was at the mercy of the currents controlling the ice and was in grave danger of being crushed against the iceberg. With time, the Endurance drifted past the Rampart Berg and left it behind as the ship drifted west and north.

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Price:  $49 (unframed)   $263.50 (unframed)