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Lot 208*

BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION - ADRIEN DE GERLACHE
'La Belgica 1898', photograph showing the ship stuck in the ice with three crew members in the foreground, INSCRIBED BY ADRIEN DE GERLACHE "Souvenir cordial à mon amie Berthe. A. de Gerlache" with caption on the mount, [1898, printed later]

14 September 2021, 13:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £4,845 inc. premium

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BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION - ADRIEN DE GERLACHE

'La Belgica 1898', photograph showing the ship stuck in the ice with three crew members in the foreground, INSCRIBED BY ADRIEN DE GERLACHE "Souvenir cordial à mon amie Berthe. A. de Gerlache" with caption on the mount, albumen print, light abrasions upper right, on original mount (small loss to one corner), image 115 x 163mm., mount 220 x 270mm., [1898, printed later]

Footnotes

Fine photograph of the Belgica held fast in the ice, inscribed by the expedition leader Adrien de Gerlache.

The Belgica set out from Antwerp at the end of August 1897, on what was "one of the most fascinating of the early Antarctic expeditions and also probably the least comfortable one to have taken part in for all concerned" (Cool Antarctica website). By March 1898 the ship was stuck in the ice, forcing the crew to remain in the Antarctic over winter (including 63 days of total darkness) before eventually escaping the ice in February the following year.

In the face of such adversity the expedition still managed to gather an important collection of scientific data (which had been the expedition's main goal), hugely beneficial for the following voyages to Antarctica, including that led by Roald Amundsen, who served on Belgica as first mate.

Additional information

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A Presentation Copy of Kennedy's First Book to Spencer Tracy. Kennedy, John F. 1917-1963. Why England Slept. New York: Wilfred Funk, Inc., 1940.

ADVERTISING POSTERfor 'The Suffragette' newspaper, [c.1913-1914]

ILLUMINATED ADDRESS – CLARA CODD Illuminated printed address signed by Emmeline Pankhurst, [1909]

MUSIC & RECORDINGS – ETHEL SMYTH Collection of printed music, song sheets and records, [c.1911-1912]

SUFFRAGETTE INSIGNIA - SPEAKER Speaker's ribbon for the Great 'Women's Sunday' Demonstration in Hyde Park, 21 June 1908