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This stunning and powerfully relevant book tells the history of Antarctica through 100 varied and fascinating objects drawn from collections around the world.
Retracing the history of Antarctica through 100 varied and fascinating objects drawn from collections across the world, this beautiful and absorbing book is published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the first crossing into the Antarctic Circle by James Cook aboard Resolution, on 17th January 1773. It presents a gloriously visual history of Antarctica, from Terra Incognita to the legendary expeditions of Shackleton and Scott, to the frontline of climate change.
One of the wildest and most beautiful places on the planet, Antarctica has no indigenous population or proprietor. Its awe-inspiring landscapes – unknown until just two centuries ago – have been the backdrop to feats of human endurance and tragedy, scientific discovery, and environmental research. Sourced from polar institutions and collections around the world, the objects that tell the story of this remarkable continent range from the iconic to the exotic, from the refreshingly mundane to the indispensable:
- snow goggles adopted from Inuit technology by Amundesn
- the lifeboat used by Shackleton and his crew
- a bust of Lenin installed by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition
- the Polar Star aircraft used in the first trans-Antarctic flight
- a sealing club made from the penis bone of an elephant seal
- the frozen beard as a symbol of Antarctic heroism and masculinity
- ice cores containing up to 800,000 years of climate history
This stunning book is both endlessly fascinating and a powerful demonstration of the extent to which Antarctic history is human history, and human future too.
Introduction
1. Taonga
2. World Map
3. Chronometer
4. Commemorative Medal
5. Logbook
6. Fur Seal Clothing
7. Wood Block
8. Burial Monument
9. Magnetic Dip Circle
10. Sealing Club
11. Fish Specimen
12. Hut
13. Primus Stove
14. Harness
15. Gas Balloon
16. Rifle
17. Champagne
18. Aurora Australis
19. Anemometer
20. Canary
21. Eye Protection
22. Skis
23. Sponsorship Solicitation
24. Camera
25. Penguin Eggs
26. Pony Snowshoe
27. Black Flag
28. Fern Fossil
29. Diary
30. Half Sledge
31. Page from the Encyclopaedia Britannica
32. Banjo
33. James Caird
34. Memorial Cross
35. Radio Transmitter
36. Post Office Safe
37. Pemmican
38. Polar Star
39. Soap
40. Swastika Stake
41. Mittens
42. Coat
43. Sledge Wheel
44. Haori
45. Tractor
46. Dynamite
47. Statue
48. Kharkovchanka
49. Crevasse Detector
50. Antarctic Treaty
51. Dog Fur Boots
52. Fuel Drums
53. Projection Reels
54. Radio Echo Sounder
55. Frozen Beard
56. Nuclear Reactor
57. Dog Cards
58. MS Lindblad Explorer
59. Meteorite
60. Pyramid Tent
61. Whale Skeleton
62. Board Game
63. Passport
64. Aeroplane Wreckage
65. Skidoo
66. Telephone
67. Dobson Spectrophotometer
68. Dinosaur Fossil
69. T-Shirt
70. JOIDES Resolution
71. Red Apple Hut
72. Penguin Taxidermy
73. Fibreglass Sledge
74. Geolocator
75. Shipping Container
76. South Pole Marker
77. Ice Core
78. Replica Exploration Suit
79. Stellar Axis
80. ICESat
81. Hydroponic Vegetables
82. Telescope
83. Chapel
84. Optical Module
85. Patches
86. S.A. Agulhas II
87. Krill Oil Capsules
88. Pee Flag
89. Aquatic Rover
90. Weather Balloon
91. Swimsuit
92. Tide Gauge
93. Wedding Dress
94. Microplastic
95. Douglas DC-3
96. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
97. D-Air Lab Antarctic Suit
98. Trowel
99. Notebook
100. Pier Bibliography: 100 Antarctica Books
Acknowledgements
Jean de Pomereu's research spans the history of Antarctic science, exploration and visual culture. He has participated in many Antarctic expeditions and is a Research Fellow at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.
Daniella McCahey is an Assistant Professor in British History at Texas Tech University. Her research includes the history of geology and geophysics in Antarctica, gender histories in Antarctic research stations and histories of Antarctic botany and volcanology.
