A sterling silver salver signed in facsimile by eight participants of the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904, a wedding gift to Charles Royds, the Discovery's first lieutenant

[Antarctic; Discovery Voyage]

Published by London, 1917

About this Item

The salver was presented as a wedding gift to Royal Navy officer CHARLES ROYDS (1876-1931), the Discovery's first lieutenant after whom Cape Royds in Antarctica is named. The salver has specially crafted feet, fashioned after penguin's feet. The Discovery expedition was the first led by Captain Robert Scott and was arranged by the Joint Antarctic Committee composed of members from the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society. Known as the British National Antarctic Expedition, the goal of the expedition was the scientific exploration of South Victoria Land and the ice barrier as well as the interior of the Antarctic continent. Its achievements included the discovery of the polar plateau and Scott's ascent, the first ever, in a hot air balloon over Antarctica. It was also the first to do extensive land exploration on the continent and went the furthest south by a sledge reaching 82 16' S. One of the unexpected contributions was the introduction to the Antarctic of so many future explorers, as it included Ernest Shackleton, Frank Wild & Edgar & Edward Evans. Scott returned to Antarctica a second time aboard the Terra Nova. That expedition, which commenced in 1910, developed into a race against the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen to become the first to reach the South Pole. Amundsen attained the goal on January 4, 1912, beating Scott by two weeks. Scott's expedition ended tragically when he and four companions perished on their return march from the South Pole after failing to reach a supply depot. Royd's had a very distinguished list of Antarcticans attending his wedding. But there are a number of ghostly presences that might have been there. Both Scott and Edward Wilson died in 1911 in their attempt to be the first to the South Pole. Ernest Shackleton was on duty in Northern Russia, as was Frank Wild. These two were to return to the Antarctic in the Shackleton's Endurance expedition, which is one of the greatest stories of survival ever told. Dr. Koettlitz died in 1916. The silver salver was made by Goldsmiths & Silversmith's Co., Regent St., London in 1917. It has a scalloped rope edge and four ball and claw feet is inscribed with the seal of the Discovery Voyage depicting icebergs and a penguin encircled within a heraldic belt. Below the seal is the engraved inscription "To Captain C.W. Royds R.N. on his marriage October 5th 1918 from his old messmates in the â Discovery' 1901-1904." Surrounding the inscription are the engraved signatures of: Scottish Royal Navy captain ALBERT B. ARMITAGE (1864-1943; "Albert B. Armitage"), was the Discovery's second-in-command. "Armitage had been second in command of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition to Spitsbergen. In recognition of this, he received the Murchison award from the R[oyal] G[eographical] S[ociety]. Armitage was the oldest man in the expedition, and his years of Arctic service gave him more such experience than anyone else on the Discovery except Koettlitz. The contrasts between Armitage and Scott were noteworthy. Armitage had a good deal of experience with ships under sail; Scott did not. Armitage had three years of polar work; Scott had none," (Scott of the Antarctic, Huxley). Cape Armitage, the southernmost point on Ross Island, is named in his honor. LOUIS BERNACCHI (1876-1942; "L. C. Bernacchi") was a Tasmanian physicist and astronomer of Italian extraction. His first polar journey was with Carsten Borchgrevink's Southern Cross expedition (1898-1901), along with Hodgson (above). For his work on the Discovery voyage, Bernacchi was decorated by the Royal Geographical Society and awarded the Légion d'honneur. Scott was the best man at his wedding. Bernacchi explored regions of Africa and South America, wrote several books on the Antarctic, was a member of the Royal Geographic Society, and served in the British and United States military during World War I. His attempts to raise funds for a 1925 Antarctic expedition failed. Antarctica's Bernacchi Head and Bay honor h. Seller Inventory # 22798

Bibliographic Details

Title: A sterling silver salver signed in facsimile...

Publisher: London

Publication Date: 1917

Condition: Very good condition