Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939
Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder Over eighty polar-themed exhibitions were held in Britain between 1819 and the 1930s, a time of intense exploration of both the Arctic and Antarctic. These varied from panoramas and human exhibits to...
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University of St Andrews
2017
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11087 |
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ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/11087 2023-07-02T03:30:02+02:00 Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 Murray, Katie Gunn, Ann V. University of St Andrews. School of Art History 326 p. 2017-06-26T13:37:40Z application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11087 en eng University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11087 Museum Exhibition Arctic Antarctic Polar Panorama Inuit Human display Human exhibit Franklin Relic Erebus Terror Diorama Exploration Explorers 1891 Royal Naval Exhibition Expedition Shackleton Robert Falcon Scott William Speirs Bruce Southern Cross Discovery Nimrod Scotia John Ross James Clark Ross William Parry Henry Aston Barker Robert Barker Robert Burford Henry Courtney Selous David Roberts E. Lambert Danson Philip Phillips Thomas Grieve William Telbin John J.Story Madame Tussauds Waxwork Display George Nares Edward Wilson William Burn Murdoch Poles Frank Debenham Scott Polar Research Institute Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory Herbert Ponting Thesis Doctoral PhD Doctor of Philosophy 2017 ftstandrewserep 2023-06-13T18:30:49Z Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder Over eighty polar-themed exhibitions were held in Britain between 1819 and the 1930s, a time of intense exploration of both the Arctic and Antarctic. These varied from panoramas and human exhibits to displays of ‘relics’, equipment, photographs and artwork, waxworks and displays shown as part of a Great Exhibition. This period also saw the creation of the first dedicated polar museums. These displays were visited by thousands of people throughout the country, helping to mediate the subject of exploration for a public audience. Despite this, the role exhibitions played in forming popular views of the polar regions has not been fully assessed. This thesis addresses this gap. It is the first to consider all the polar exhibitions held during this period as a collective body, making it possible to study how they developed over time and in response to changing circumstances. The thesis uses a variety of archival sources to both reconstruct the displays and place them in their historical and museological contexts. The study shows that exhibitions evolved in response to changes both in the museum sector and in exploration culture. It demonstrates that, while they were originally identified with the shows of the entertainment industry, polar exhibitions began to take on more of the characteristics of museum displays. At the same time their dominant themes changed; the natural world was relegated in favour of ideas relating to the human experience of the regions such as heroism, adventure and everyday life in an exotic environment. While other media may have been more effective in disseminating ideas about exploration, visitors could find the experience of visiting an exhibition more compelling. This thesis contributes to our understanding of this distinct role that exhibitions played in presenting the polar regions to the British public. Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Arctic inuit Scott Polar Research Institute University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository Antarctic Arctic Debenham ENVELOPE(-67.100,-67.100,-68.133,-68.133) Murdoch ENVELOPE(-44.666,-44.666,-60.783,-60.783) Nares ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) Nimrod ENVELOPE(165.750,165.750,-85.417,-85.417) Parry ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-64.283,-64.283) Shackleton |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
Museum Exhibition Arctic Antarctic Polar Panorama Inuit Human display Human exhibit Franklin Relic Erebus Terror Diorama Exploration Explorers 1891 Royal Naval Exhibition Expedition Shackleton Robert Falcon Scott William Speirs Bruce Southern Cross Discovery Nimrod Scotia John Ross James Clark Ross William Parry Henry Aston Barker Robert Barker Robert Burford Henry Courtney Selous David Roberts E. Lambert Danson Philip Phillips Thomas Grieve William Telbin John J.Story Madame Tussauds Waxwork Display George Nares Edward Wilson William Burn Murdoch Poles Frank Debenham Scott Polar Research Institute Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory Herbert Ponting |
spellingShingle |
Museum Exhibition Arctic Antarctic Polar Panorama Inuit Human display Human exhibit Franklin Relic Erebus Terror Diorama Exploration Explorers 1891 Royal Naval Exhibition Expedition Shackleton Robert Falcon Scott William Speirs Bruce Southern Cross Discovery Nimrod Scotia John Ross James Clark Ross William Parry Henry Aston Barker Robert Barker Robert Burford Henry Courtney Selous David Roberts E. Lambert Danson Philip Phillips Thomas Grieve William Telbin John J.Story Madame Tussauds Waxwork Display George Nares Edward Wilson William Burn Murdoch Poles Frank Debenham Scott Polar Research Institute Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory Herbert Ponting Murray, Katie Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
topic_facet |
Museum Exhibition Arctic Antarctic Polar Panorama Inuit Human display Human exhibit Franklin Relic Erebus Terror Diorama Exploration Explorers 1891 Royal Naval Exhibition Expedition Shackleton Robert Falcon Scott William Speirs Bruce Southern Cross Discovery Nimrod Scotia John Ross James Clark Ross William Parry Henry Aston Barker Robert Barker Robert Burford Henry Courtney Selous David Roberts E. Lambert Danson Philip Phillips Thomas Grieve William Telbin John J.Story Madame Tussauds Waxwork Display George Nares Edward Wilson William Burn Murdoch Poles Frank Debenham Scott Polar Research Institute Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory Herbert Ponting |
description |
Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder Over eighty polar-themed exhibitions were held in Britain between 1819 and the 1930s, a time of intense exploration of both the Arctic and Antarctic. These varied from panoramas and human exhibits to displays of ‘relics’, equipment, photographs and artwork, waxworks and displays shown as part of a Great Exhibition. This period also saw the creation of the first dedicated polar museums. These displays were visited by thousands of people throughout the country, helping to mediate the subject of exploration for a public audience. Despite this, the role exhibitions played in forming popular views of the polar regions has not been fully assessed. This thesis addresses this gap. It is the first to consider all the polar exhibitions held during this period as a collective body, making it possible to study how they developed over time and in response to changing circumstances. The thesis uses a variety of archival sources to both reconstruct the displays and place them in their historical and museological contexts. The study shows that exhibitions evolved in response to changes both in the museum sector and in exploration culture. It demonstrates that, while they were originally identified with the shows of the entertainment industry, polar exhibitions began to take on more of the characteristics of museum displays. At the same time their dominant themes changed; the natural world was relegated in favour of ideas relating to the human experience of the regions such as heroism, adventure and everyday life in an exotic environment. While other media may have been more effective in disseminating ideas about exploration, visitors could find the experience of visiting an exhibition more compelling. This thesis contributes to our understanding of this distinct role that exhibitions played in presenting the polar regions to the British public. |
author2 |
Gunn, Ann V. University of St Andrews. School of Art History |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Murray, Katie |
author_facet |
Murray, Katie |
author_sort |
Murray, Katie |
title |
Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
title_short |
Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
title_full |
Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
title_fullStr |
Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting British polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
title_sort |
memorials of endurance and adventure : exhibiting british polar exploration, 1819 – c.1939 |
publisher |
University of St Andrews |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11087 |
op_coverage |
326 p. |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.100,-67.100,-68.133,-68.133) ENVELOPE(-44.666,-44.666,-60.783,-60.783) ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) ENVELOPE(165.750,165.750,-85.417,-85.417) ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic Debenham Murdoch Nares Nimrod Parry Shackleton |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic Debenham Murdoch Nares Nimrod Parry Shackleton |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic inuit Scott Polar Research Institute |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic inuit Scott Polar Research Institute |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11087 |
_version_ |
1770274296946491392 |