The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition Read online

  Shackleton's own account of his adventure, South (Heinemann, 1919), is, of course, a classic. Also not to be missed are Frank Worsley's two books, Endurance (Philip Allen, 1931) and Shackleton's Boat Journey (recently reissued by W. W. Norton). Less well known are Captain Frank Hurley's two books, Argonauts of the South (G. P. Put-nam's Sons, 1925) and Shackleton's Argonauts (Angus and Robertson, 1948). Leonard Hussey's South With Shackleton (Sampson Low, 1949) is also rewarding. Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest, by Frank Wild (Cassell and Company, 1923), is the story of the last voyage.

  Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage (Carroll & Graf, 1986, and illus. hardcover ed., The Adventure Library, 1994) and is a rip-roaring narration of the Endurance epic. Harding Dunnett's recent Shackleton's Boat: The Story of the James Caird (Neville & Harding, 1996) is a fascinating A-to-Z of the legendary boat. Two valuable books tell the tragic and heroic story of the less well known half of the expedition: The Ross Sea Shore Party, 1914?1917, by R. W. Richards (Scott Polar Research Institute, 1962); and Shackleton's Forgotten Argonauts, by Lennard Bickel (Macmillan, 1982).

  A number of books have been published, all in Australia, about Frank Hurley and his work: In Search of Frank Hurley, by Lennard Bickel (Macmillan 1980), and Once More on My Adventure, by Frank Legg and Toni Hurley (Ure Smith, 1966). Hurley at War: The Photography and Diaries of Frank Hurley in Two World Wars (Fairfax Library in association with Daniel O'Keefe, 1986) includes examples of Hurley's rare color images from the First World War. Frank Hurley in Papua: Photographs of the 1920?1923 Expeditions, by Jim Specht and John Fields (Robert Brown and Associates, 1984), presents what is probably Hurley's best work next to the Endurance photographs.

  A NOTE ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS

  An article published in the Australasian Photo-Review of August 22, 1914, shortly before Hurley's departure on the Endurance expedition, describes his choice of photographic equipment:

  The leader of the Expedition left the choice of photographic apparatus and outfit for the entire trip entirely to Mr. Hurley, and it shows to what perfection the local supplies have been brought when the Sydney branch of Kodak (Australasia) Ltd. was able to supply from stock everything required. …

  Included in the items were Graflex cameras and a square bellows stand plate camera for use where weight was unimportant. For the sledging parties entire reliance is placed on various sized Kodaks, including V.P.K. [Vest Pocket Kodak], No. 3 and 3A F.P.K. and of course, for use in the latter, an ample supply of the ever dependable Kodak N.C. film. For the plate cameras a large sup ply of Austral Standard plates (backed) is available, and also Austral lantern plates, so that slides may be made on the spot. Most of the cameras are fitted with Cooke lenses of varying foci and apertures, including the well-known 12 inch f/3.5 Portrait lens. For some special work a 17 inch Ross f/5.4 Telecentric finds a place.

  When the Endurance sank, Hurley managed to save whole (63?4” x 81?2”) and half (4?4” x 6?2”) plate glass negatives; these are now in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society's Picture Library. He also salvaged an album of photographs he had already printed; these album photographs represent mostly informal portraits of life on board ship before disaster struck. This album is in the archives of Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University. Twenty surviving Paget color transparencies, extremely rare examples of early color photography, are in the possession of the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Australia. Finally, Hurley took thirty-eight photographs with his small hand-held Vest Pocket Kodak after he was forced to abandon his equipment at Ocean Camp; these film images are also in the collection of the Royal Geographical Society.

  The photographs in this book were all made from the original glass plate and film negatives, or from interpositives made directly from the album photographs. The duotone reproductions were matched as closely as possible to prints that Hurley made of his own negatives shortly after the Endurance expedition. Boldface captions accompanying most photographs are Hurley's own captions for those images.

  The American Museum of Natural History's exhibition Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Expedition represents the most comprehensive exhibition of Frank Hurley's work from the Endurance expedition ever mounted. All of the photographic prints, both for the exhibition and for this book, were produced by Barbara and Michael Gray at their studio near Bath. Michael Gray is the curator of the National Trust, Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock, England.

  Hurley filming from the mast

  “Hurley is a warrior with his camera & would go anywhere or do anything to get a picture.” (Greenstreet, letter to his father)

  A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Caroline Alexander, who has written for The New Yorker, Granta, Smithsonian, Outside, and National Geographic, among other publications, is the author of four previous books. She is the curator of Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Expedition, an exhibition that will open at the American Museum of Natural History in March 1999. She lives on a farm in New Hampshire.

  THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK

  PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC.

  Copyright © 1998 by Caroline Alexander

  Map copyright © 1998 NG Maps/National Geographic Image Collection

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

  www.randomhouse.com

  eISBN: 978-0-307-55594-6

  LC 98-87214

  Photographs on the following pages are reproduced with the permission of the picture library of the

  Royal Geographical Society, London: opening, half title, frontispiece, epigraph, 2, 13, 14, 17, 20, 24, 25,

  26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 43, 45 (both), 46, 47, 48, 50, 51 (both), 52 (top), 54, 55

  (both), 58, 61, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78 (both), 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 94,

  96, 97, 98, 100 (both), 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 120, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132,

  133, 134 (right), 135, 136, 137 (both), 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 163, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175, 177, 180, 183,

  184, 186, 191, 203, 210. Photographs copyright © 1998 by the Royal Geographical Society.

  Photograph on page 135 is reproduced with the permission of the Mitchell Library, State Library of

  New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

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