POSTED BY FRAN HENNESSEY Dr. Hayes in his first book, An Arctic Boat Journey, demonstrated his abilities at gaining both scientific and financial support for his second Arctic expedition, search for the legendary Open Polar Sea. Of note, Chapter 34 “Concluding Remarks” and the following “Appendix” illustrate Hayes’ ambitious plan to return to the shores… Continue reading Dr. Hayes as Logistical Planner and Fund Raiser
Category: Arctic Visions
“The Motliest-Looking Crowd That It Was Ever My Fortune To Encounter”: Photographs of Native North Americans in The Arctic Regions
Submitted by guest blogger, George Schwartz. He is a doctoral candidate in American & New England Studies at Boston University. For twelve years he was as an Assistant Curator in the Maritime Art and History and Exhibitions and Research departments at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, where he contributed to a pair of Polar… Continue reading “The Motliest-Looking Crowd That It Was Ever My Fortune To Encounter”: Photographs of Native North Americans in The Arctic Regions
Pressing On or Turning Back, Second Grinnell Expedition (Part 2 of 2)
POSTED BY FRAN HENNESSEY As Dr. Elisha Kent Kane led the Second Grinnell Expedition in its search for the missing Franklin crew, he demonstrated a combination of pressing on and turning back — and equally important, the adoption of some Inuit methods to survive harsh northern Greenland winters. His expedition became one of the most… Continue reading Pressing On or Turning Back, Second Grinnell Expedition (Part 2 of 2)
Pressing On or Turning Back, The Franklin Expedition (Part 1 of 2)
POSTED BY FRAN HENNESSEY Whether to proceed in the face of adversity has confronted explorers since antiquity and was a real concern for 19th century Arctic explorers. The inability for explorers to predict adverse weather and/or ice conditions can lead to injurious and/or fatal outcomes. By their nature, these Arctic explorers pressed on where others would… Continue reading Pressing On or Turning Back, The Franklin Expedition (Part 1 of 2)
Curator’s photographs from Greenland Voyage
POSTED BY MICHAEL LAPIDES These photographs were taken by Arctic Visions: Away then Floats the Ice-Island curator Michael Lapides as part of the “Chasing the Light” voyage. The purpose of this voyage was to partially retrace Bradford’s 1869 voyage aboard the Panther.
Wet Plate Collodion Photography
POSTED BY MICHAEL LAPIDES Wet plate collodion photography is a featured element of the Arctic Visions exhibit. Specifically the work accomplished by photographers John L. Dunmore and George Critcherson while aboard the Panther in 1869. This is Quinn Jacobson’s short video about how to prepare and expose wet plate collodion negatives.
Dr. Elisha Kent Kane
POSTED BY RUSSELL POTTER Looming large behind all of the polar spectacles of Bradford and Dunmore and Critcherson, as well as the career of Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, there stands the figure of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, by far the most famous Arctic explorer of his day. He was the ship’s surgeon on the First… Continue reading Dr. Elisha Kent Kane
