Polar explorers’ picture of disappointment to be sold
A “SELFIE” photograph taken by explorer Captain Scott’s team after they arrived at the South Pole to discover the Norwegians had beaten them to it is going up for auction.
The January 1912 photograph of Scott of the Antarctic and four other men is being sold at Sotheby’s. The five in the photograph, which is expected to fetch £1,200, all died before reaching home.
Cecilie Gasselholm, a specialist in Sotheby’s books department, said: “You can almost see the disappointment in their faces. (Norwegian explorer) Roald Amundsen had already reached the South Pole 34 days earlier. They saw the tent and the note that Amundsen had left for them. They must have been very disappointed.”
Other sale highlights include a silver spoon and fork from the expedition which is expected to fetch £600, and The South Polar
Times, the newspaper printed in Scott’s hut in 1912 which has a guide price of £25,000. The sale will also feature sea shanties sung on Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions that are listed for £1,200.
A photo of a dishevelled Shackleton, having just returned from the Antarctic, with the caption “Just Back From The South Pole: This Tramp Became In After Life The Famous Sir Ernest Shackleton”, is expected to sell for up to £5,000.
The auction in London will take place on Tuesday next week.