Archive for category: Antarctic Blog

By Ciaran Lavelle

Do you remember Forrest Gump sitting there on his park bench sharing not only his box of chocolatey delights but also his southern philosophy about the randomness of life?

 

 

As a 90s kid, I remember all too well and can remember quoting that film often, as I do now. I sit at my lab bench and look at my own chocolate box, a wooden Fry’s Caracas Chocolate box that would have originally contained chocolate cakes. It has sat on a shelf for over 100 years at the Southern Cross Expedition hut at Cape Adare and I can safely say, that with the randomness of the contents, you don’t know what you’re going to get next.

 

 

By Ciaran Lavelle

Close your eyes and imagine what a typical explorer would look like. Now imagine your explorer traveling through an Arctic or Antarctic region.  What image have you drawn in your mind’s eye?

For me I always imagine a well-padded, shaggy-haired, bearded man. The first image shows Northern Party from Scott’s 1910-13 Terra Nova expedition before their arduous journey to Cape Evans from Inexpressible Island. The unruly hair and bushy beards tick all the boxes for an explorer, and I can only imagine that an extra layer of hair was a welcome insulation against the cold.

Although this image was not always the norm. The men of these early Antarctic expeditions to Cape Adare were learned men, and from the Naval tradition. Their appearance would have reflected their social stations; just look at the second photograph of the well-groomed, dapper men of Scott’s Northern Party sitting outside the hut at Cape Adare.    

We see evidence of these grooming routines in the artefacts from the hut, with the bone hair comb and a hair brush (it is possible this could also be a clothes brush) seen in these images. The hair brush was particularly interesting object to conserve as it still retained hair within its bristles and also required a great deal of reconstruction as the bristles were loose and falling out.

 

By Stefanie White

George Murray Levick, surgeon and zoologist on Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) was a member of the Northern Party who spent the summer of 1911 – 1912 at Cape Adare. Recently, Conservator, Stefanie White has completed the conservation of a collection of clothing from Cape Adare and several of these items have been labelled with Levick’s name. From his socks, we can summise that levick’s feet were at least 25cm in length; from his collar, his neck measurement was at least 46 cm; and from his belt, his waist was at least 66cm while at Cape Adare.

Why did Levick not take these personal items when he left Cape Adare? Did he suffer from forgetfulness or misplace his possessions? Perhaps, this explains why he also left his photography notebook at Cape Evans, or perhaps it is because Levick thought he would one day return to Cape Adare. In January 1912, Levick together with the Northern Party were collected by the Terra Nova and dropped off at Inexpressible Island to carry out scientific field work before being picked up again. However, the Terra Nova was unable to return to inexpressible island and collect Levick and his five colleagues. The Northern Party never returned to Cape Adare and Levick’s personal clothing never again claimed.

By Ciarán Lavelle

They came from the North and they came prepared, well they came with everything they thought they needed, only stopping short of a kitchen sink. The men of the early exploration of the Antarctic continent were no doubt confident that they were going to have a cold time of it. And a good cup of tea and coffee was an essential to beat back the chill of the icy landscape. When it comes to tea the British know how to plan with a large collection of tea and coffee remaining in their original ration tins. The Cape Adare hut contains many fine examples of the hardwearing workman like iron-enamelled cups for everyday use from which the explorers imbibed this important heat infused nectar. These sturdy cups have suffered corrosion and enamel loss but still look much like they would have when their owners would have been huddled round drinking the steaming contents to the chorus penguin hoards nestled in the landscape around the small hut. The results of the removal of the iron corrosion and stabilisation of the cup before preparing for the cups return to the Antarctic climate can be seen in the pictures below.

Although drinking tea and coffee was no doubt a common place necessity this did not mean they couldn’t drink it in style. In the hut there can be found beautiful examples of fine bone china tea cups. Unfortunately the more fragile fine bone china mugs have not survived the trials and tribulations of the Antarctic environment as well as their metal cousins. This fine bone china mug came across our desk in multiple fragments leaving me with an inviting 3D jigsaw to reconstruct.

The task of the conservation process is to reconstruct it so it can be reversed in the future if it is needed so great care is taken and deliberation is needed to decide on the best adhesive to use.

In the end we were able to bring back to life evidence of essential fine dining accompaniment. And as I look at the cup I can imagine a gruff beaded man in well-worn extreme weather clothing sitting in that small cramped candle lit hut sipping from the cup like a fine European gentle man, pinkie raised, enjoying a bit of high tea on his icy sea.

By Josefin Jimenez

For the past weeks, as the paper conservator, I have been working on a collection of bottles of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce found in the loft of the Southern Cross expedition hut at Cape Adare in Antarctica. Some 30 bottles were found in the loft, in addition to others found in the dining area. Food for the expedition, even if in ample supply, was of little variety and Borchgrevink himself wrote: “Seal beef and roasted penguin flesh became a frequent repast as we grew frightfully tired of tinned food”.

Whether or not this went down well with a dash of Worcestershire sauce remains unsaid.

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce was established in 1839 so would have been a household name by the time Borchgrevink went to Antarctica. The bottles themselves are beautiful objects and it’s stunning to see them emerge from the debris.

When they arrive to the lab they are covered in grit and penguin feathers and often the sauce has spilled and dribbled from the bottle. Traditionally, the bottles were labelled with a decorative printed label and then wrapped in paper for transport. In some cases only traces of paper remain on the glass; at others, the spills have so impregnated the paper that it is no longer possible to distinguish the paper from the glass.

But for a few of them, where the wrapper has remained, lifting the wrapper reveals a label of startlingly vivid orange colour and delicate blue printing and borders.  Much of the printing is often lost but in good examples the following can be read:

‘Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce Pronounced by Connoisseurs as The Only Good Sauce For enriching Gravies, and for use in Game, Steak, Cold Meats, Soup & Curries. It forms an agreeable addition to SALAD & CHEESE. As spurious imitations of this are offered to the public, ensure with each purchase that the name of LEA & PERRINS is on the Wrapper and Labels as well as on each Bottle and Patent Stopper. Manufactured solely by LEA & PERRINS, WORCESTERSHIRE, and sold by CROSSE AND BLACKWELL, and the Warehousemen, London: JOHN DUNCAN’S SONS, NEW YORK, and vendors of sauces generally throughout the world.’