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February « 2014 « The Polar Museum: news blog

The Polar Museum: news blog

Archive for February, 2014

The tag of a famous dog

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

The brass tag of a dog named Tresor is one of the most recent additions to the Museum’s permanent display. Tresor was one of thirty-three Siberian sledging dogs on Scott’s British Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition (1911-13).

The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who beat Scott to the South Pole and got back alive, was an expert in using dog teams: they were a key factor in his success. By killing a certain number of the dogs at each stage of his journey to create food for the others, Amundsen reduced the weight of supplies needed for the trip. He also ensured that his men would not have to pull the sledges themselves, which was Scott’s exhausting method in his fatal attempt on the Pole.

Unlike Amundsen, Scott didn’t believe that dog teams would be effective as a means of transport in Antartica, but the members of the expedition felt a great deal of affection for their dogs. They must have been a welcome reminder of the normality of home in the strange and lonely Antarctic environment. 

The expedition geologist and founder of SPRI, Frank Debenham, wrote a story about one of them, Stareek. In the Antarctic, a book of light-hearted stories from the expedition published in 1952, gives us a wonderful sense of how the presence of the dogs gave things a domestic feel, writing that “sledging-dogs have just as much individuality as we know exists in our own pets in civilised life.”

He also described the pleasure of working with them, explaining that

“One of the delightful things about dog-driving is their eagerness for work. When you came out of the hut with the dog-harnesses on your arm the loose dogs would rush up to you and try to insert their heads into the loop of the harness, begging to be taken.”

They were a lot more fun than the stubborn and obstinate ponies which were more heavily relied on for transportation by Scott and his men.

Despite his scepticism about the dogs’ usefulness, Scott himself was profoundly compassionate and concerned for the wellbeing of all the animals he took with him to Antarctica. On one occasion, a team pulled by thirteen sledge dogs crossed a concealed crevass. Only the lead dog made it across: the rest were left hanging by their harnesses in the sudden chasm, and two had slipped out and fallen to the bottom completely. It took the men hours to rescue the dogs; Scott himself insisted on being lowered 65 feet into the crevasse in order to rescue the two who had fallen.

Tresor Photo

When Debenham finally left Antarctica in February 1913, of all the surviving sledging dogs it was Tresor he took with him, whom he described as “a marvel of quietness and amiability.” Looking at the photographic portrait of Tresor, it’s not hard to read those human characteristics in his face – he seems peaceful and benevolent; his gaze passes off into the middle distance as if he’s gently contemplating something. Debenham’s sketch makes his affection for Tresor palpable – he’s given him a friendly smile and that same contemplative expression.

Tresor Sketch

Returning to England via Sydney, Debenham left Tresor with a young man called Archbold. After Tresor’s death, his dog tag was kept in a button box for many years. Luckily, its connection to a well-travelled dog and a historic expedition was identified and we are delighted to see it join The Polar Museum collection.

On the road….

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Some of our objects have just travelled to London to take part in an exhibition called "Discoveries: Art, Science and Exploration" at 2 Temple Place.  Willow Silvani (the registrar) and I went down to help prepare the display.  The exhibition is shared between all the University of Cambridge Museums, and it shows an extraordinary range of objects juxtaposed with eachother, some of which have rarely been seen by the public before.

2 Temple Place is an interesting venue, right next to the river Thames and a stone's throw from Temple tube station.  It is like a very ornate mini fortress:

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It was built by Lord William Waldorf Astor, who was very rich and also very anxious about kidnappers, so it is a high security building!  Nowadays it is owned and run by the Bulldog Trust, who host an annual guest exhibition in the grand rooms of the house.

All the objects from each museum were packed in crates and collected by a fine art carrier firm, and taken down to Temple Place about a week before installation.  This gives the objects time to acclimatise to the conditions in their temporary home for a few days before the displays are arranged.

When we arrived at the venue, we unpacked our objects.  Here are some of our goggles, nestling in archival foam and acid-free tissue in their travelling box:

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Then we had to check the condition of the artefacts to make sure they haven't been damaged in transit. Here Willow is comparing pictures of the objects before they travelled to see if there has been any change:

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Once we were happy that the objects were OK, we could install them.  Among other things we have sent a collection of 22 pairs of polar explorer goggles to the exhibition, many of which have never been displayed before.  We asked Bob Bourne from Museum Technical Services to make metal mounts for 16 of them, and I made soft supports for another 5.  On the installation day all of Bob's mounts had to be fixed to the display board, so Bob came along to work his magic.  Personally I think the display board with just the mounts could be exhibited in its own right!

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Once all the mounts were in place, we put the whole board into the showcase and put the goggles onto the mounts one by one:

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Meanwhile, in other parts of the building different crews were adjusting the lights, connecting the case alarms, assembling custom made display cases etc.  The organisers put up guides to show where all the objects will be going, and then the artefacts are installed by teams from their own museum.  Things always look pretty scruffy at this stage:

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This venue has some enormously high ceilings, and a lot of other quirky features, like this huge stained glass window:

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This can be a challenge for the lighting technicians, because the light levels have to be strictly monitored to prevent fading of the artefacts, but in a historic house this is much more difficult to control.

The ornate space and the combinations of objects together look very interesting – it made me see our familiar collection with fresh eyes!  "Discoveries" is open now until 27th April 2014.