Iconic shot of the Endurance lit by flares at night. Photo by Frank Hurley 1914-1917. Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen, the 144-foot long three-masted barquentine Endurance was built at the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway and fully completed on 17 December 1912 for a singular purpose– to carry Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to that frozen continent. Initially christened Polaris, her name was changed before delivery– an act that many old salts see as bad luck.
At onset of her delivery, the Times of London noted, Endurance was “built specially for work in Polar seas,” adding that “in an ice-coated sea there can be no turbulent waves which are the causes of so many disasters in warmer zones.”
Well, we all know what happened to the poor vessel, crushed by ice, causing her to sink three years later in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica.
Now, some 100 years after Endurance’s sinking the Royal Geographic Society has mounted the Enduring Eye: The Antarctic Legacy of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his photographer Frank Hurley, an exhibition of newly digitized images that provide incredible detail to the day-to-day life of the group of adventurers and survivors.
After 80 years of storing the original glass plate and celluloid negatives, RGS along with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) has digitized over 90 images for the public. Due to enlargement, the photos reveal detail that had not been previously seen, like in the image of six crewmen huddled around the fire below. Previously, only five men were visible in the image, but after digitization it is now possible to make out a sixth man through the thick smoke of the flame.
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Photo by Frank Hurley 1914-1917. 5.S ingle use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Wearing full polar clothing and gathered under the bow of the ship, photographed and filmed by Frank Hurley, probably on 1 September 1915. Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Ernest Shackleton at Ocean Camp. Glass Plate Negative Photo by Frank Hurley.Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
Single use permission from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers
If you want to explore the newly digitized images in person, make sure to catch the Enduring Eye which runs through February 28, 2016 at the Royal Geographic Society in London. The exhibition will then have a voyage of its own and travel to the US, Canada, and Australia.
As for Endurance, since 1967, the Royal Navy’s Antarctic patrol vessel has traditionally carried the name Endurance as a sign of respect.
