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National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904 and the First Antarctic Relief Expedition, 1902-1903
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National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904 and the First Antarctic Relief Expedition, 1902-1903
A 1p. menu printed in gold and blue for Shackleton's last dinner in the Antarctic on the eve of S.Y. Morning's departure from McMurdo Sound for Lyttelton, dated 'Sunday/March 1 1903' and inscribed '77° 47'S/116° 11'E.', SIGNED IN INK BY SCOTT, ARMITAGE, ROYDS, BERNACCHI, SHACKLETON, KOETTLITZ, FERRAR, HODGSON, SKELTON, and BARNE (Discovery wardroom) and ENGLAND and MULOCK (Morning wardroom), 6 1/8 x 4in. (15.6 x 10.2cm.)
PROVENANCE:
Lieut. C.W.R. Royds, RN (placename on the reverse).
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922), and thence by descent.
'In the afternoon [of March 1] all our company, except two or three men and Wilson [still laid up in bed after the Southern Journey], set forth for the "Morning", there to be entertained for the last time by our good friends; there was much revelry on the small mess-deck forward, and at the eight-o'clock dinner aft seats had to be found for no fewer than sixteen; as the utmost seating capacity of the wardroom table was eight, the overflow had to be accomodated in the tiny cabins at the side, but this in no way detracted from the excellence of the dinner or the merriment of the evening. After a most satisfying meal we all gathered about the piano, the air became thick with tobacco smoke, and for the last time we raised our voices in the now familiar choruses. It was well into the small hours before this final merry-making came to an end, and the occupants of the crowded wardroom rolled themselves into blankets to snatch a few hours' rest.' (R.F. Scott, The Voyage of the 'Discovery', London, 1907, II, pp.128-9)
Shackleton, to his own 'bitter' disappointment, was ordered home by Scott on the relief ship Morning on health reasons after his breakdown on the return of the southern journey. He was replaced by the Morning's Lieut. G.F.A. Mulock, RN. Controversy surrounded Scott's decision to send Shackleton home early (for discussions of which see M. and J. Fisher, Shackleton, London, 1957, pp.74-5, R. Huntford, Shackleton, London, 1985, pp.114-18, and D.E. Yelverton, Antarctica Unveiled, Boulder, 2000, pp.228-9). For whatever reason, Scott's decision to invalid him out left Shackleton with 'an aspiration, soon to harden into a determination, that he would yet prove to the Fleet and to the world that he was a fit man, perhaps even the fittest man, for Polar exploration.' (H.R. Mill, The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton, London, 1923, p.79)
A 1p. menu printed in gold and blue for Shackleton's last dinner in the Antarctic on the eve of S.Y. Morning's departure from McMurdo Sound for Lyttelton, dated 'Sunday/March 1 1903' and inscribed '77° 47'S/116° 11'E.', SIGNED IN INK BY SCOTT, ARMITAGE, ROYDS, BERNACCHI, SHACKLETON, KOETTLITZ, FERRAR, HODGSON, SKELTON, and BARNE (Discovery wardroom) and ENGLAND and MULOCK (Morning wardroom), 6 1/8 x 4in. (15.6 x 10.2cm.)
PROVENANCE:
Lieut. C.W.R. Royds, RN (placename on the reverse).
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922), and thence by descent.
'In the afternoon [of March 1] all our company, except two or three men and Wilson [still laid up in bed after the Southern Journey], set forth for the "Morning", there to be entertained for the last time by our good friends; there was much revelry on the small mess-deck forward, and at the eight-o'clock dinner aft seats had to be found for no fewer than sixteen; as the utmost seating capacity of the wardroom table was eight, the overflow had to be accomodated in the tiny cabins at the side, but this in no way detracted from the excellence of the dinner or the merriment of the evening. After a most satisfying meal we all gathered about the piano, the air became thick with tobacco smoke, and for the last time we raised our voices in the now familiar choruses. It was well into the small hours before this final merry-making came to an end, and the occupants of the crowded wardroom rolled themselves into blankets to snatch a few hours' rest.' (R.F. Scott, The Voyage of the 'Discovery', London, 1907, II, pp.128-9)
Shackleton, to his own 'bitter' disappointment, was ordered home by Scott on the relief ship Morning on health reasons after his breakdown on the return of the southern journey. He was replaced by the Morning's Lieut. G.F.A. Mulock, RN. Controversy surrounded Scott's decision to send Shackleton home early (for discussions of which see M. and J. Fisher, Shackleton, London, 1957, pp.74-5, R. Huntford, Shackleton, London, 1985, pp.114-18, and D.E. Yelverton, Antarctica Unveiled, Boulder, 2000, pp.228-9). For whatever reason, Scott's decision to invalid him out left Shackleton with 'an aspiration, soon to harden into a determination, that he would yet prove to the Fleet and to the world that he was a fit man, perhaps even the fittest man, for Polar exploration.' (H.R. Mill, The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton, London, 1923, p.79)
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