For many years the Lecture Theatre at SPRI has had a permanent student in situ. Just as the objects in the new museum and store have been conserved, it was decided to give the polar bear a spruce up.

The bear was donated to SPRI in the 1970s and has always hung in the same spot. A warning sign beneath the bear gives clues as to how skins are prepared. In the past heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury have been used in the taxidermy process to preserve skins and also as pesticides. Of course these metals are also hazardous to humans, so that’s why it is best not to touch!

A lot of dust was generated during the building works and this can be detrimental to objects as it is hydrophilic (attracts water) and abrasive. So I arranged for a specialist conservator to come in and clean our bear.

Conservator Sophie Rowe getting ready to clean the bear.

In the picture you can see Sophie is wearing a dust mask, this is to protect her from any contaminants in the bear’s fur.

This image is mid conservation. Although the fur doesn’t look any different compare the left eye to the right.

One of the materials Sophie used to clean the fur was smoke sponge. Smoke sponge is a vulcanised natural rubber material, a bit like an eraser. It picks up dirt without depositing it back on the surface again. This is perhaps more of an indicator on how dirty the bear was.

After a morning’s work by Sophie the bear was ready to get back to studying again.

(Images © SPRI/Fiona Cahill)

Although the new Polar Museum looks ‘finished’ the installation of the objects into the new museum space is not the end of the story.

A lot of time and skill went into cleaning and conserving the display objects and we now have to ensure that the museum environment is not causing any further damage to them.

The objects can potentially be damaged by four things whilst on display; light (particularly from the ultraviolet (UV) end of the spectrum), relative humidity, temperature and insect pests.

We can control and monitor all these dangers and this is done in a number of ways, some hidden and some more obvious!

Amundsen’s marker flag

We have a large number of textiles on display and, on the whole, these are most susceptible to fading caused by UV light and damage by pests. The image above is the black textile marker flag used by Amundsen, which was found near the South Pole by Edward Wilson.

The LightCheck monitor

In the close-up image you can see a blue coloured Light Check monitor to the right of the flag. The blue dye is very sensitive to light and will fade. The colour is regularly compared to a calibration chart to determine the equivalent luminous exposure (ELE). The luminance of light is measured in lux and a lux monitor can be seen in the image below.

LightCheck and UV monitor

In this case, I am taking two light level readings, one using the box in the bottom of the image. This sends data using a radio telemetric system back to my computer and I download this information into a graph. The LightCheck (next to the avittat scissor case in the centre of the image) is a more visual check of any light damage as the blue will fade if exposed to light. In simple terms, we try to keep lux levels low and limit exposure time to prevent the textile fading and becoming brittle.

There are also pheromone traps in the cases containing fur and textile items. These attract moths and they become stuck to the sticky board on the base of the trap. The traps are hidden away out of sight and I monitor them every three months. I am pleased to report they have been empty so far.

Finally I monitor the temperature and relative humidity in the cases and in the museum space. Again these monitors are tucked away out of sight in the cases but there is one visible in the Museum Shop.

Environmental monitor in the Museum Shop

So the next time you are in the Polar Museum have a closer look and see if you can spot the environmental controls.

(Images © SPRI/Fiona Cahill)

Happy New Year.

After a long and relaxing Christmas break it is all go here again at SPRI.

At SPRI we have a full temporary exhibition program planned up to five years in advance. This is necessary to ensure the research can be undertaken, the objects selected and conserved and the labels written and printed in plenty of time.

Our Sidney Nolan exhibition came down over Christmas and we are currently in the throes of installing our new exhibition.

‘Return to Antarctica: the British Graham Land Expedition 1934-37’

Our new exhibition is heavily objectbased so we are putting all our temporary display cases into action.

While this has been going on I have been downstairs in the Conservation workshop condition assessing and conserving the objects required for display. They are all waiting for installation over the next couple of weeks.

As some of the objects for the temporary exhibition have come from the permanent gallery displays, they have been replaced with objects from another expedition. Two exhibitions for the price of one really. In the beginning though I was very confused as these objects relate to the British Expedition to Graham Land (BEGL)! However, I got my brain around it in the end.

During conservation one of my favourite objects was the HMV gramophone used on the BGLE exhibition. It was in very good condition considering where it had been, and the archival material suggested that it was well used. Fortunately they had more than one gramophone record and these were kept in a separate storage container.

During my time on the ice I also listened to a lot of music but rather than having to lug a gramophone around I had a slightly more portable MP3 player.

It’s amazing to think that in a relatively short space of time, approximately sixty-seventy years, technology has moved on from playing one record at a time to a hand held device holding 2,000 songs.

You can see full information on the exhibition and additional images.

(Images © SPRI/Fiona Cahill)

I thought it would be fun to write a blog about a costume we have in the reserve collection at SPRI.

As I was condition checking the textiles I came across a very interesting box (I find boxes fascinating as you never know what is going to be inside, and somehow it is always slightly disappointing when it is empty). However, in this case the box was far from empty!

The first parcel I unwrapped was a hat in the shape of Mount Erebus, with a ship in the foreground and two penguins on an ice floe. Around the brim were glass icicles.

As it was a bit squashed I went to the Archives to see if we had any information about how it should look. Luckily there was lots of information as Mrs Dorothy Irving Bell (to whom the costume belonged) had bequeathed her archives to SPRI.

Mrs Irving Bell wearing the fancy dress costume at the Chelsea Art Ball in 1923.

As you can see, the hat had a completely different shape in 1923 than it does now. Information like this is very useful to conservators as it takes the guesswork out of how an object should look. On the reverse of the image is a handwritten account of the evening that brings the costume to life.

“Chelsea Arts Club Ball
Feb 7^th 1923 – Dancing 10pm – 5am

Decorated by F. Leish + Capt. Hodge, assisted by the Students of the Architectural Association, Com. Frank Wild, R.N.+ the Officers of the Quest.

This being so it was staggering to find a Polar Bear on the top of the S. Pole in the middle of the dance floor! Worsley was so upset by this that he tried to push me to the Pole to remove the Bear but the whole enormous structure trembled and I was excused this expedition in spite of being correctly dressed for the part!”

This image was sent as a Christmas Card to SPRI in 1972.

Also in the box were the sledging mitts and jump suit, but unfortunately not the shoes, each with their own little penguin sitting on the toes.

As for Mrs Irving Bell (known to her friends as ‘Squibbs’), she was a fascinating lady who had a life-long interest in Polar exploration and was fortunate to have known many of the explorers first hand. Her relationship with SPRI dates back to the earliest days and I also found in the archives her invitation to the opening of the Institute in 1934.

(Images © SPRI / Fiona Cahill)

Our collection here at SPRI is not static and very recently the Institute was gifted a model of the Terra Nova. It is not as big as some of our ship models (we have twelve in the collection) but it is beautifully formed.

It was made from silver by Mappin and Webb in 1913 and presented to Peter Scott, son of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, by ‘the Proprietors and Readers of John Bull’.

The detail throughout is amazing and very absorbing, it is very difficult not to spend a long time just looking at it!

Although initially the condition didn’t look too bad, a closer inspection revealed a number of issues, including some structural damage and a discoloured lacquer layer.

From a conservation point of view it is a challenging piece. However before any conservation treatment is carried out lots of detailed photos and extensive condition notes will be taken. I’ll also have to brush up on my nautical terms, luckily we have a copy of The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea in the library.

As this is going to be a long-term project I’ll publish updates on the blog as the conservation progresses.

(Images © SPRI/Fiona Cahill)

All of our textiles have been put through the freezer (the Institute has two industrial cold rooms) and are now in the new textile store. Before going into the freezer they had to be wrapped in acid free tissue and then in plastic sheeting. As the parcels would be experiencing temperatures of –28^oC it was important to remove as much air and any possible moisture sources as possible to prevent condensation forming on the object.

Although some textiles have already been removed to go on display, it is now time to check the other textiles to assess their condition and storage needs before they are rearranged within the store.

It is a bit like Christmas or a birthday unwrapping the parcels, and even though you know what is in the box (hopefully!) it is always nice to see the object in reality rather than as an image on a database.

In this case, as you can see, it is a beautiful doll. The accession register describes it as a Kitaamiut (West Greenlandic) woman doll, collected around 1921. She has a wonderful costume made from textile and leather decorated with dyed leather patterns and trimmed with seal fur and velvet. Around her neck is a cowl made from tiny coloured glass beads.

I like her face which is somewhat hidden by her costume.

Like Willow and Ronald in one of the previous blogs, I am also using the same criteria to condition check the textiles; basically, what condition is the material in and what conservation does it require? In this case the doll is in good condition and only has slight moth damage, so will only require minimal conservation.

Looking at the database, I see we have a pair of underpants made from string – I’ll keep you posted!

(Images © SPRI/Fiona Cahill, R.D. Smith)

I’m giving this object its own blog entry only because I like it! Initially it looks like a rather well used ladle, but on closer inspection the bowl appears to be a bit ‘chewed’.

Indeed, the label attached to the objects reads,

‘Ladle brought back by Lt Pelham Aldrich, British Antarctic Expedition 1875-76. Label written by P Aldrich reads, ‘This ladle was bitten through by an Eskimo dog by the name of Michael on sledge journey in October 1875. A small quantity of the previous night’s supper adhered to the ladle and evidently proved the attraction."

What powerful jaws Michael must have had.

Now that the museum has opened and our party dresses have been put away, it’s time to get on with the rest of the project.

Ronald and Willow condition-checking reserve collection objects

As I mentioned in my last blog, we currently display approximately 18% of our artefact collection, but what is happening to the rest of the objects in the reserve collection? Every object is in the processes of being condition checked, meaning an assessment of its condition and conservation needs are recorded. In the image above Ronald, one of our band of volunteers, is condition checking a cup using a checklist. Apart from details such as description and accession number, the form asks three main question; what condition is the object in now (A – excellent to D – poor), how stable is it (1 – stable to 4 – highly unstable) and treatment priority (1 – no treatment to 4 – urgent treatment).

This means in the next phase of the project I can prioritize objects for conservation and identify those objects requiring specialist conservation. All organic materials are put through the freezer to prevent pests such as moth being introduced into the new store.

After the assessment (and if required, freezing) has been completed the objects are given a preliminary clean and then taken into the new store. At this point Willow, our documentation and collections assistant, will find them a new home, grouping them into categories.

In this drawer foodstuffs are grouped together

SPRI has a large collection of first aid kits tailored for personal use, a surprising number of which are in tobacco tins

Of course this also means that our old store is getting emptier and emptier!

Empty shelves in the old store

Once the old store is empty, we plan to refurbish it as a large object store for items such as sledges and kayaks.

The re-opening of the new museum marks another chapter in the development of the Institute over the years.

In the Photographic Archive we have not only famous images by photographers such as Ponting and Hurley, we also have lots of ‘domestic’ images too. I thought it would be interesting to see if there were any pictures of the Institute through its transitions. Lucy, our Photographic Library Manager very kindly pointed me in the right direction and scanned the following images for me.

The original building was opened to the public in 1934. As you can see in the picture it was a rather wet day, but that didn’t deter the public. Also, you have the ubiquitous bicycle chained to the fence just to make sure you know the photograph was taken in Cambridge!

As time passed the building became too small and a new extension was added in 1968

The new extension incorporated a large Lecture Theatre on the ground floor, laboratory spaces and an extension to the Library. The top floor was originally used as a Map Room but this now houses students and lecturers, and the map collection was relegated to the basement. In the background to the right you can see the Chemistry Department Building.

With the most comprehensive collection of Polar literature in the world it was soon necessary to build yet another extension to the Library. The Shackleton Memorial Library was built under the auspices of Dr Gordon de Quetteville Robin, the longest serving director at SPRI (1958 – 1982). More information on the Library and numerous photographs taken by Dr Gareth Rees can be found elsewhere on the SPRI website.

And now, right up to date, the eighteen-month project to refurbish the Polar Museum, its stores and archives has been completed on time and on budget. The reopening of the original front door on Lensfield Road provides a welcoming entrance to visitors, with a lift for wheelchair users discreetly hidden within the new steps. Restoration and double glazing of the windows to the front of the building has improved the stability of environmental conditions within the galleries.

The new Polar Museum open to the public.

On Tuesday 8^th June 2010, after four years of planning and 15 months of construction work, the Polar Museum here at SPRI officially re-opened to the public.

L-R: HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex, HRH Prince Edward, SPRI Director Professor Julian Dowdeswell at the unveiling of the plaque to mark the reopening of the Museum.

We were honoured to have TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex to re-open the Museum. Prince Edward is no stranger to the Polar regions, having visited the historic huts in Antarctica and also the Falkland Islands.

Julian is no stranger to Royalty either, having met many members of the Royal Family through SPRI and also having been awarded the Polar Medal by Her Majesty the Queen for 'outstanding contributions to glacier geophysics' (you can see him wearing his medal in the photo above).

Also present at the opening were two Inuit artists from Canada, Andrew Qappik, printmaker and carver Jaco Ishulutak. They spent a week at SPRI including sessions working at the St Barnabas Press and Gallery, and helped to celebrate the opening of the first display in our renovated special exhibition gallery, as part of our Heritage Lottery Fund Collecting Cultures project on Inuit Art.

Their Royal Highnesses receive the gift of a print from Andrew Qappik. L-R: HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex, HRH Prince Edward, Andrew Qappik, Jaco Ishulutak.

This exhibition runs in conjunction with another curated by Polar Museum staff at Canada House in London until 10 September 2010.

It was a fun day and the culmination of a lot of hard work by many people. It is good to see all the objects back on display. This has been a good opportunity to get previously unseen artifacts on display, and we now show approximately 18% of our reserve collection. All of which passed through conservation first before going on display. Of course, this isn’t the end of the project, there are still a large number of artefacts in the reserve collection waiting to be moved into their new home in the refurbished Museum Store, so stay tuned.