Lot Essay
By 1909, when Captain Scott was selecting the men to accompany him on his Antarctic Expedition, Herbert Ponting was already a well known photographer. Ponting was appointed the official photographer to this expedition and was given carte blanche by Scott to ensure that the expedition was fully recorded. Equipment was made specially for the expedition including cameras by Newman & Guardia for his still work, two movie-cameras, a Newman-Sinclair and a J.A. Prestwich camera, developing apparatus and Lumière Autochromes. The apparatus was specially designed to cope with the exacting conditions of the Antarctic. The hut at Cape Evans allowed for a 6 x 8 ft. darkroom where Ponting could work and sleep.
Soon after his return to London in 1912, Ponting gave lectures illustrated with his photographs, lantern slides and film takes. An exhibition of two hundred of his photographs was held at the Fine Art Society of London in 1913.
Although labelled 'Capt. Scott's [last] Birthday Dinner' and translated in Scott's Last Expedition, I, London, 1914, facing p.304 with the same caption, the present image corresponds to the illustration captioned 'Midwinter Day Dinner 22 June, 1911' in Ponting's own account of the expedition, the celebration following shortly after similar festivities on Scott's birthday (6 June): 'Midwinter Day, June 22nd, was our 'Christmas', and it marked our sounding the depths of the Polar night - for it was now two months since the sun had deserted us. This day - which was of course night so far as light was concerned - came in the midst of the only week of continuous calm we had throughout the winter. The mercury stood at 37 degrees F. below zero...the hut had been entirely transformed from its customary appearance, by the draping of Union Jacks and sledging-flags, and we sat down under festoons of bunting and coloured and embroidered silks to a feast, the bounteousness of which seemed almost incredible after our customary simple fare. A specially excellant brew of seal soup was followed by a huge sirlion of roast beef...we toasted our Leader, who replied in a short and appropriate speech, emphasizing the fact that this day we had reached the 'half-way house' in the plans of the expedition...Then, after the company had been photographed, the table was moved aside, so that I might show about a hundred lantern-slides which I had prepared from my negatives of the Expedition.' (H.G. Ponting, The Great White South, London, 1924, pp. 140-42).
Soon after his return to London in 1912, Ponting gave lectures illustrated with his photographs, lantern slides and film takes. An exhibition of two hundred of his photographs was held at the Fine Art Society of London in 1913.
Although labelled 'Capt. Scott's [last] Birthday Dinner' and translated in Scott's Last Expedition, I, London, 1914, facing p.304 with the same caption, the present image corresponds to the illustration captioned 'Midwinter Day Dinner 22 June, 1911' in Ponting's own account of the expedition, the celebration following shortly after similar festivities on Scott's birthday (6 June): 'Midwinter Day, June 22nd, was our 'Christmas', and it marked our sounding the depths of the Polar night - for it was now two months since the sun had deserted us. This day - which was of course night so far as light was concerned - came in the midst of the only week of continuous calm we had throughout the winter. The mercury stood at 37 degrees F. below zero...the hut had been entirely transformed from its customary appearance, by the draping of Union Jacks and sledging-flags, and we sat down under festoons of bunting and coloured and embroidered silks to a feast, the bounteousness of which seemed almost incredible after our customary simple fare. A specially excellant brew of seal soup was followed by a huge sirlion of roast beef...we toasted our Leader, who replied in a short and appropriate speech, emphasizing the fact that this day we had reached the 'half-way house' in the plans of the expedition...Then, after the company had been photographed, the table was moved aside, so that I might show about a hundred lantern-slides which I had prepared from my negatives of the Expedition.' (H.G. Ponting, The Great White South, London, 1924, pp. 140-42).