The discovery of John Franklin's HMS Terror at the bottom of an Arctic bay this September coincided with a rather unique item arriving in our shop - a remarkable photographic record of Captain Scott's Terra Nova Expedition.

It is a superb collection of 24 of the most iconic photographs of the Antarctic, taken on the disastrous expedition, 1910-1913, by the official photographer, Herbert Ponting.

The Golden Age of Antarctic exploration cut short 

The Terra Nova expedition was supposed to be the high-water mark of the Golden Age of Antarctic exploration; led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition was intended to be the first to reach the South Pole, and to mark the event with the planting of the Union Jack. However the more professionally equipped Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen got there first. Nevertheless this expedition will always be the one best remembered on account of the tremendous courage and bravery shown by Scott and his companions, Wilson, Bowers, Oates, and Evans on their return from the Pole in appalling conditions.

Just one of the highlights from our travel catalogue of new acquisitions

Ponting produced some of the most well-known and enduring images of the Antarctic. Originally published by the Fine Art Society in 1914, this wonderful album is one of the highlights from our latest travel catalogue of our recent acquisitions of rare books. Contact julian@shapero.com, head of our travel book department, for more information.

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