Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1951: Yeti Footprints In The Menlung Basin: Set Of Four Original Press Photographs

Shipton, Eric

Published by Topical Press, UK, 1951

Date: 13th December 1951. Sheet Size: Photographs 1 & 2: 15.3cm x 20.6cm including margins. Photographs 3 & 4: 20.3cm x 25.6cm including margins. Format: Original gelatin silver press photographs. Original copyright of 'The Times' & 'Topical Press'. Edition: Not stated. Images originally published in 'The Times' on the 7th December 1951. Special Features: Each photograph is stamped and dated to the reverse with copyright information and a description of the photograph. Description: This complete set of Eric Shipton's four 'Yeti' photographs has impeccable provenance. Sourced from the recently-dispersed photographic archive of 'Shields Gazette', the oldest provincial evening newspaper in the United Kingdom. These photographs, capturing the enigmatic Yeti footprints, are complete with all their original stamps, date-stamps, and information to the reverse, reflecting the historical significance and intrigue of the 1951 expedition. Overall condition is very good indeed. Photographs 1 and 2: Very good indeed condition with minor creasing and traces of a paperclip. Photograph 3: Chipped top right-hand corner, closed tear bottom right-hand corner, some creasing, and minor nicks and wear to the edges; good overall condition. Photograph 4: Age-spotted to the top edge, closed tear bottom right-hand corner, small chip bottom left-hand corner, minor offsetting, wear, and creasing; very good condition. Very scarce, especially as a complete and uniformly-dated set. Related Photographs: An undated set of Eric Shipton's four 'Yeti' or 'Abominable Snowman' carbon photographs has sold twice in recent years. They were smaller in size than the set on offer here but showed slightly more of the surroundings around the boot of Mike Ward and the ice axe. One of the photographs had Tom Bourdillon's remarks written on the verso: 'Dear Mick, Here are the footprint photos: sorry for the delay. We came across them on a high pass on the Nepal-Tibet watershed during the 1951 Everest expedition. They seemed to have come over a secondary pass at about 19,500 ft, down to 19,000 ft where we first saw them, and then went on down the glacier. We followed them for the better part of a mile. What it is, I don't know, but I am quite clear that it is no animal known to live in the Himalaya, & that it is big. Compare the depths to which it & Mike Ward (no featherweight) have broken into the snow. Yours, Tom Bourdillon.' In 2007, the set signed by Bourdillon made £3500 at Christie's, and in 2014 the same set commanded £6875 at the same rooms. These must have been printed pre-July 1956 as Bourdillon lost his life in a mountaineering accident in that year but it is unlikely that they date from as early as the set dated December 1951 that we are offering here. The Yeti remains one of cryptozoology's highest profile creatures. Does it really exist? There is a distinct lack of hard scientific evidence for it, but the members on this expedition swore blind that they didn't hoax the photographs ? so what made them? (Christie's, The Property of a Lady, 2014). Folder: 3001. Seller Inventory # 002302

Bibliographic Details

Title: Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1951: Yeti...
Publisher: Topical Press, UK
Publication Date: 1951
Binding: No Binding
Condition: Very Good