Polar explorers supplies sledge

SOLD

A very rare and interesting piece of early 20thC history, this is a sledge of the type used by polar explorers to carry rations and equipment. It is made of wood, mainly ash, leather and rope, with some metal braces and screws, and has a delightful, tired, whitewash patina. The runners are broad and designed to carry heavy loads across soft snow. It dates from the 1900s, perhaps the 1890s.

Research has shown it to be a 'Nansen' pattern sledge, designed for the original crossing of Greenland in the 1880s by Fridjof Nansen. This example was almost certainly made by LH Hagen & Co of Norway. An identical pattern sledge was identified by no less an authority than Sotheby's as used by Scott on his fateful Terra Nova expedition where he was beaten by Amundsen to one of his objectives, that of being first to the South Pole. As every schoolchild knows, Scott and his team perished on the return journey. There is also evidence (in 'Scott and Amundsen" by Roland Huntford) that Nansen arranged to meet at Hagen's "where Scott was going to buy his sledges".

A photograph shows Capt Robert Scott with a pair of identical sledges on his 1902 first explorative trip to the Southern polar region. 

Sotheby’s recently sold an identical sledge for a sum in excess of £50,000. Spink also exhibited a sledge of this exact construction in their 2019 exhibition. 

It measures about 88” (2.24m) x 24” (0.6m)

This is an important piece in the history of exploration. Research continues, but at this early stage we believe this to be a sledge from the Scott explorations of the Antarctic polar regions.  It measures 88" (2.24m) long x 24" (0.6m) wide.

SOLD

Item ref:71MEL 

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