Antarctic conservation blog

Therese, Thursday 26 June 2008

It’s a great privilege to be working on any artefact from the historic huts, even when it is one of 1,000 smelly cans of food. But once in a while there is an artefact that stands out from the rest as having a particular ‘wow’ factor. Last month Lizzie and I worked on a group of 19 reams of paper from Shackleton’s Cape Royds hut that had that effect for me. Without knowing their provenance, they seem pretty ordinary - 19 packets of paper - but it’s their association with the expedition that made them fascinating.

The Aurora Australis c1908 - Written, printed, illustrated and bound in the Antarctic © Special Printed Collections, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand

The reams were left over from the printing of the book Aurora Australis. The paper was brought to Antarctica, along with a printing press, by Shackleton with the intent of publishing a book in the winter of 1908. Prior to the Nimrod expedition Shackleton had edited The South Polar Times, an ‘in-house magazine’ produced over the winters of 1902-3 during the time he was with Robert Scott’s expedition when the ship Discovery was ice-bound in McMurdo Sound. That publication was typewritten and only one copy could be issued but still it must have given Shackleton the experience and impetus to plan the printing of a book during his Nimrod 1907-09 expedition.

Illustration from the Aurora Australis: ‘Struggle? for the broom’ showing the Rogues’ Retreat © Special Printed Collections, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand

In his book The Heart of the Antarctic, Shackleton wrote about the Aurora Australis project: ‘It would only be repetition to chronicle our doings from day to day during the months that elapsed from the disappearance of the sun until the time arrived when the welcome daylight came back to us. We lived under conditions of steady routine, affected only by short spells of bad weather, and found amply sufficient to occupy ourselves in our daily work, so that the spectre known as ‘polar ennui’ never made its appearance… Joyce, Wild, Marston and Day during the winter months spent much time in the production of the ‘Aurora Australis’, the first book ever written, printed, illustrated and bound in the Antarctic. Through the generosity of Messrs Joseph Causton and Sons Limited, we had been provided with a compete printing outfit and the necessary paper for the book, and Joyce and Wild had been given instruction in the art of type-setting and printing, Marston being taught etching and lithography… Day meanwhile prepared the binding by cleaning, planning, and polishing wood taken from the Venesta cases in which our provisions were packed…’

End board of recycled wood from venesta case © Special Printed Collections, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand

Spine and boards © Special Printed Collections, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand

Individual copies of the complete books are often affectionately referred to by the food names still visible on the wooden covers. For example the two editions held at the Alexander Turnbull Library (National Library of New Zealand) are the ‘Julienne Soup’ copy and the ‘Beans’ copy. The books were produced mainly for family and friends back home and approximately 90 were printed. Most of the men contributed an article of some sort, with Shackleton as editor. The spines were made from harness leather, and the perforated pages are bound with cord. Although the illustrations appear to be lithographs, they are actually reproduced by algraphy (printed from aluminium plates). The printing was done in Joyce and Wild’s cubicle – a small 6 x 7 ft area that also accommodated a large sewing machine and bunks for both men - known as ‘The Rogues’ Retreat’. When printing they had to use a lamp under the type-rack to keep it warm, and a lighted candle under the inking-plate to keep the ink thin enough to print evenly.

Conservation of the books will have some interesting challenges but it is not a project that we are faced with (although Lizzie as a book conservator may have that privilege in the future). There are no Aurora Australis books remaining at Cape Royds. Our project was to conserve the paper that was left behind so that some of the accrued damages were reversed and to help to slow down the deterioration process so that they will remain intact in the hut for years to come.

Conservation Treatment of the Reams:

Bottom of a paper ream before treatment © Antarctic Heritage Trust

Top of a paper ream before treatment © Antarctic Heritage Trust

The reams of paper came to the lab in various states of deterioration - the one pictured here was in the worst. The paper wrapper on the bottom side was heavily stained, partly from acid migration from the wooden shelf and shipping crate, and the paper block was distorted from mould and moisture damage. The paper inside is a high quality laid paper with three hole perforations and watermarked ‘Abbey Mills, Greenfield’.

For this particular ream the conservation treatment involved treating each page individually to mechanically remove mould and surface dirt, followed by water baths to remove ingrained dirt, water-soluble acids and some of the staining. This process extends the life of the paper, and with controlled drying and flattening we were able to return the ream close to the original dimensions. The wrapper was reinforced by lining with a lightweight Japanese tissue that was toned so that the areas of loss in the original paper would not stand out. Normally, for example in a museum environment, toning of the support tissue is not carried out because you want to see what is original and what is added. In this case, it was decided to have the new material blend in with the original so that it would not be visually distracting once it is back in the hut.

Bottom of a paper ream after treatment © Antarctic Heritage Trust

Top of a paper ream after treatment © Antarctic Heritage Trust

Posted in Antarctica, Cape Royds, Conservation

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