SOUTHWARD ON THE QUEST
The Scala Cinema Portfolio
An unusual collection of Shackleton and Quest ‘ephemera’

When Southward on the Quest, the film of the expedition, was released, the Scala Cinema in London issued, to go with the film, “A fine series of Souvenir Pictures of the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition’ which could be had of the attendants. Price 2/6.”

This was a folio of 8 photographs taken during the expedition, bound in a brown paper cover and tied with a cord. Originals are rather rare. One was sold recently for around £2,500.

I was fortunate to acquire what appears to be a proof copy, sent to Frank Worsley. It has the inscription: Jean; from Wuzzles, Xmas, 1923. ‘Wuzzles’ was Worsley’s nickname. It’s quite large: 360 x 290 cms (14” x 11.5”).

This facsimile is limited to 275 copies. It has 8 photographic plates, the covers are thick brown board, and with it is the following:

1. A 16pp facsimile of the New Scala Cinema brochure for the film. It contains “The Story of the “Quest” by Commander Frank Wild, CBE, and other details of the expedition, crew etc;

2. A four page facsimile flyer advertising a talk by Frank Wild to be held in Eastbourne in December, 1923

3. Twelve images of the Quest expedition in the form of postcards;

4. An 8pp brochure certifying the copy number, with various pictures, film review, and maps.

Limited to 275 copies. Price £50.00   Order

IN THE LAND OF THE PENGUINS
An account of the Voyage of the Belgica – Georges Lecointe

Over 120 years ago a Belgian expedition set sail for the Antarctic. Under the command of Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery it was the first expedition of a purely scientific nature and it provided a wealth of information along with the first pictures ever taken on the ice. Though the explorers did not reach the Pole they were the first to overwinter in the Antarctic.

On board the ship were two famous Polar explorers, Roald Amundsen, the future conqueror of the South Pole and Dr. Frederick Cook, who already explored much of the Arctic with Commander Robert Peary and who later claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole.

Georges Lecointe was appointed first officer (and therefore second in command) on board Belgica. Lecointe was also responsible for hydrography , depth-soundings and charting.

This was a multi-national expedition – Belgian, Norwegian, Polish, an American doctor and a Romanianzoologist. With such a diverse crew and almost a year stuck in the ice there were problems aplenty. That all ended well was due largely to four men – Amundsen, Cook, Lecointe and de Gerlache himself. Lecointe’s book is perhaps the most readable of all accounts of the voyage.

The first English translation of Lecointe’s 1904 book of the Belgica Expedition.
330pp, hardback. Jacketed. 90 photographs and illustrations, five separate maps, 20pp brochure, five postcards of the expedition. Price £42.50   Order
 

The South Polar Trail

The Log of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Ernest Mills Joyce. With an introduction by Hugh Robert Mill and a new introduction by Beau Riffenburgh

From the dust-jacket of the original edition:
The whole grim truth about life on an Antarctic expedition will never be printed, but in this book, a transcript of the log kept by Mr. Joyce on the most arduous depot-laying journeys ever accomplished, real facts are bluntly revealed without idealization or romance. Mr. Joyce, who had entered the Navy at the age of fifteen, had so distinguished himself in previous Antarctic expeditions that he was asked by Shackleton to join his Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition, and put in charge of the laying of depots at intervals of sixty miles from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier within six degrees twenty minutes of the South Pole. He accomplished this tremendous task in spite of appalling hardships which killed three of his party. But owing to the failure of Shackleton’s party which was to have crossed the Antarctic Continent from the other side and used these depots on their return journey northwards, they proved of no avail, and are now still lying where Joyce placed them, preserved for ever by snow and ice. 

The introduction by Dr Hugh Robert Mill, the well-known expert in Antarctic travel, enables the reader to start the log fully informed of all the circumstances of the journey. 

This is a limited edition facsimile of 300 individually numbered copies of the 1929 original, including the jacket. 

Hardback, jacketed, 220pp + 32 plates.60 illustrations. Price £30.00   Order

FACSIMILE COVER FOR THE SOUTH POLAR TRAIL
 

We have a small number of facsimile copies of the original cover of THE SOUTH POLAR TRAIL. These are the correct size and have been carefully produced to match as far as possible the original.
Price: £4.50  Order

ANTARCTICA
LEAVES FROM A DIARY KEPT ON BOARD AN EXPLORING VESSEL.
C. Reginald Ford

This is probably the rarest of all first-hand accounts of Scott’s Discovery Expedition. Ford was a steward on the expedition and is notable mainly for being the first man to break his leg skiing in the Antarctic. 

Upon the Expedition's return Ford acted as Scott's secretary during the leader's lecture tour. Some of his photographs were used by Scott in The Voyages of the 'Discovery'. He moved to New Zealand in 1906 and began to study architecture and later became a partner in one of that country's most prestigious firms. 

Antarctica was published privately in 1908 and this is a facsimile of his original booklet. Ford, in a letter to a friend in 1963,confirmed that Scott himself gave him permission firstly to lecture in England and then later in Canada and Australia and also to write a book. He said ‘I should quite probably have done these things without consent but I preferred to ask anyway.’

The booklet is 32 pages in length and has thirteen pictures. It is 150mm x 110mm (6” x 4.5”) The cover is linen-textured card.

Presented in a black gift box it also contains a facsimile of a 4pp 1905 brochure (295 x 210mm) detailing the author’s lectures in Australia and a 12pp pamphlet of biographical details, newspaper articles and pictures. Four Antarctic postcards are also included. The print run is limited to 400 copies. 

This is a very unusual piece of Antarctic history. Price £30.00 REDUCED TO £25.00  Order

With the Aurora in the Antarctic 1911–1914
John K Davis
With a new introduction by Beau Riffenburgh

Douglas Mawson who led the Australian Antarctic Expedition 1911–14, called it a stirring tale of exploration in what he referred to as ‘The Home of the Blizzard’. This expedition is well documented but much less well known is the story of the expedition’s ship, the Aurora, and its remarkable captain – John King Davis. Both Davis and Mawson cut their Antarctic teeth as members of Shackleton’s expedition of 1907–09 and, by the time he retired, Davis was one of the most experienced ice captains in the world. The Aurora was built in 1876 as an Arctic whaler. Although old and battered, captained by Davis it managed three Antarctic voyages in support of Mawson and his men. Known as ‘Gloomy Davis’ by his crew, he was a reticent man of principle and determination. His view of the captain’s role brought him into direct conflict with Mawson, with inevitable tensions for the expedition. Yet both men were crucial to the success of the expedition, both in terms of exploration and science.

Published in a small edition in 1919 it is now very scarce and we are delighted to be able to re-publish, in facsimile form, the original account of the ship’s exploits. The introduction by the well-known polar historian Beau Riffenburgh provides an excellent overview of both Davis and the expedition. This is a companion volume to our earlier book Trial by Ice – the Antarctic Journals of John King Davis, edited by Louise Crossley.

312pp + 1 fold-out map (includes 83 illustrations) hardback, blocked in gold on front and spine. REDUCED TO £22.50 Order