Last chance folks these are under the hammer.
"A set of 42 magic lantern slides of photographs taken by Thomas Mitchell & George White during the British Arctic Expedition 1875-1876. Produced by The London Stereoscopic Company (Optical Department) 110 & 108 Regent St. and 54 & 53 Cheapside, London. Each slide: 8.7cm x 8.7cm. Each image: 6cm x 6.7cm. Each slide hand numbered 1-42, labelled COPYRIGHT and with a white London Stereoscopic Company label. Images include many shots of HMS Discovery & HMS Alert in amongst ice floes, several native Inuit groups, on board the expedition vessels and in the settlement of Godhaven, including one of Hans Hendrik the native 'Esquimaux' dog driver employed by the 'Discovery' with his daughter and son on the upper deck of 'Discovery'. Also group portraits of expedition members, arctic views and landscapes, sledging parties and encampments. (See back cover illustration) Organised by the British Admiralty and led by Captain George Strong Nares, the expedition was commissioned as a voyage of scientific discovery and general exploration, with its major aim being the conquest of the North Pole. HMS Alert and HMS Discovery set sail from Portsmouth on May 29th 1875. The expedition failed to reach the North Pole yet significant scientific data was gathered, a farthest north was reached and a considerable portion of the north Greenland coast was mapped. However, four men were lost to frost bite and scurvy and although the initial welcome home was warm, the British press turned on Nares, branding the expedition a total failure and demanding answers for the loss of life. Although Nares was not to blame, (lime juice provided by the admiralty for the prevention of scurvy had been boiled into concentrate, thereby destroying the vitamin C) the vilification he suffered and the expedition as a whole, has meant that it has largely slipped into obscurity. Fortunately for us, Nares requested photographers for the expedition and George White, Assistant Engineer for Alert and Thomas Mitchell, Paymaster for Discovery were trained at the Army School of Photography in Chatham in the latest photographic processes. These two men took some of the earliest photographic images of polar exploration that set a precedent in the field of photography followed by later professionals like Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley in recording the activities, achievements and polar landscapes for a wider audience at home. These fascinating early Arctic images were probably produced for lecture purposes and show us in excellent quality all manner of expedition details such as clothing, equipment, the parties' involved as well as some remarkable images of the indigenous Greenlanders. Condition report: Very good condition."
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