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Polar researchers p-pick up priceless penguins
21 December 2007
Two fragile chalk drawings of penguins, sketched by the legendary explorers Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton, have been discovered at Cambridge University.
The sketches, which date from 1904 and 1909, were created by the renowned Polar explorers and were probably drawn to illustrate public lectures the two gave after returning from their respective Antarctic voyages in those years.
The blackboards were found lying together in the basement of the University's Scott Polar Research Institute. Nobody is sure when they arrived or how they found their way to Cambridge. Staff are now appealing for donations to help "save the penguins" and restore them so that future generations can visit them in the Institute's museum.
"People often compare Scott and Shackleton in terms of their achievements as explorers and their leadership qualities," Dr Huw Lewis-Jones, a historian and curator of art who found the images, said. "Now, albeit with a smile on our faces, we can judge their artistic abilities as well.
"We have absolutely no idea how we got them and we are still trying to find a record of them arriving in our collections, but I am sure they are authentic.
"Some people may think they look a little crude but I think they are incredibly charming. They were drawn at public lectures in front of an enthusiastic audience, to laughter and to cheers, and then signed with a flourish. It's like having the explorers' autographs, only more wonderful, because each has signed their name next to a hand-drawn penguin."
Both Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton were huge national heroes and became legends in their own lifetime because of their feats exploring the frozen wastes of Antarctica. Each saw penguins there for the first time and they toured Britain extensively when they returned home. Hundreds of people flocked to town halls up and down the country to hear them talking about their experiences, and doubtless some in the audience asked them to draw what they had seen.
Scott had returned in 1904 from his defining voyage aboard the Discovery - in which Shackleton also took part. The expedition had successfully explored the Ross Sea, discovered the Polar Plateau and travelled further south than anyone had ever managed before. Scott famously died attempting to return from the South Pole in bitter, blizzard conditions during a second expedition in 1912.
In 1909, five years after the Discovery expedition, Shackleton also returned triumphant from his own command aboard the Nimrod - an expedition in which he almost made it to the South Pole and also became the first human both to cross the Trans-Antarctic mountain range and set foot on the South Polar Plateau. He was knighted on his return.
"To a Polar historian, the pictures make these explorers much more immediate. They give us a glimpse of the excitement that greeted them when they came home," Dr Lewis-Jones said.
"It is particularly important to have an idea of what life was like for Scott when he came back from his Discovery expedition, because of course he never had the chance to enjoy a hero's reception the second time around."
Both of the images are very fragile and staff are appealing for people to give donations that will help them have the chalk images cleaned and restored so that they can go on display. A project to expand and modernise the museum at the Scott Polar Research Institute - which at present can only accommodate about 10 per cent of its collection - is currently underway.
Plans are also afoot to invite famous modern-day explorers to draw their own penguins, creating a collection of Antarctic birds drawn by Polar pioneers.
Heather Lane, librarian and keeper at the Scott Polar Research Institute, said: "We are delighted to have rediscovered these sketches, and we want to be able to give them pride of place in our new museum.
"Because they are so special we want to make sure that they are preserved for the future. We've managed to save these penguins from obscurity in the basement. Now we want to get them cleaned and restored so that visitors can enjoy them."
Anyone wishing to make a donation towards the restoration of the penguin sketches should call the Scott Polar Research Institute's number for general enquiries on 01223 336540 or contact the Director, Professor J A Dowdeswell, Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER.
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