''Aurora Australis'' was the "first book ever written, printed, illustrated and bound in the Antarctic".

Bibliographic details

''Aurora Australis'' was written during the British Imperial Antarctic Expedition or the

Nimrod Expedition The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second expedition to the Antarctic. Its main target, ...

(1908–09) led by

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

. Produced entirely by members of the expedition, the book was edited by Shackleton, illustrated with

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s and

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

s by George Marston, printed by

Ernest Joyce Ernest Edward Mills Joyce AM ( – 2 May 1940) was a Royal Naval seaman and explorer who participated in four Antarctic expeditions during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the early 20th century. He served under both Robert Falcon ...

and

Frank Wild John Robert Francis Wild (18 April 1873 – 19 August 1939), known as Frank Wild, was an English sailor and explorer. He participated in five expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, for which he was awar ...

, and bound by Bernard Day. The production of ''Aurora Australis'' was one of the cultural activities Shackleton encouraged while the expedition team over-wintered at

Cape Royds Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteor ...

Ross Island Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound. Ross Island lies within the boundaries of Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica claimed by New ...

in the

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo o ...

, to ensure that "the spectre known as 'polar ennui' never made its appearance". Houghton Typ 100

Because the copies of ''Aurora Australis'' were unnumbered, it is unclear exactly how many were produced; it is believed that one hundred copies were created, of which less than seventy have been accounted for. Copies of the book are often identified by the original stencils on the inside of the covers, which were made of boards from wooden supply boxes. Shackleton may have originally intended to sell copies of the book on his return from the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

, but instead they were all distributed among the members of the expedition and given to other "friends and benefactors of the expedition".

Sections

The book is divided into 10 sections, each written by members of the crew. The sections are as follows. * The Ascent of Mount Erubus T. W. Edgeworth David. * Midwinter Night

Nemo Nemo may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Games * ''Nemo'' (arcade game), a 1990 arcade game by Capcom based on ''Little Nemo'' * NEMO (video game console), an unreleased console Music * Nemo (American band), an indie rock band * Nemo ...

(E. H. Shackleton) * Trials of a Messman A

Messman A steward's assistant (SA) is an unlicensed, entry-level crewmember in the Steward's department of a merchant ship. This position can also be referred to as steward (the usual term on British ships), galley utilityman, messman, supply, waiter or ...

* A Pony Watch

Putty Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and be ...

(George Marston) * Southward Bound Lapsus Linguæ * An Interview with an

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

A. F. M. * Erubus

(E. H. Shackleton) * An Ancient Manuscript Shellback (Frank Willd) * Life under Difficulties James Murray * Bathybia

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Aurora Australis (book)
Scanned copy at Archive.org

Article and image by The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Article and cover image
at the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...

''Aurora Australis'' online using the Turning the Pages software (requires Shockwave plugin)

Printing in Antarctica Ernest Shackleton 1908 non-fiction books Books about Antarctica Travel books

Bibliographic details

Sections

References

Further reading

External links