Americas Collections Blog

Picturing the Great Alone: photography and the Antarctic

Robert Falcon Scott on the 'Terra Nova' expedition, by Herbert Ponting. Image from Wikipedia.

Last year was a busy one for Team Americas and one of the many things we managed to do was take on some responsibilities for materials relating to Antarctica, thus adding a whole extra continent to our domain. This being the case, when an opportunity to view 'The Heart of the Great Alone' at The Queen's Gallery came up a couple of us jumped at the chance.

'The Heart of the Great Alone' covers various early twentieth century expeditions to the Antarctic, including that of the 'Terra Nova' during which Scott and his team perished. The main exhibition focus is the photography of Frank Hurley, photographer for Shackleton's 'Endurance' expedition, and Herbert Ponting, who produced the official photographs for the 'Terra Nova' expedition. I could write a lot here about these photographers and the expedition but the best thing to do would be to recommend a visit the exhibition itself or the e-gallery.

 
'Midnight in the Antarctic Summer', by Herbert Ponting. Image from Wikipedia.

However, as always with these trips, I had a mind to mull over the Library's materials relating to the Antarctic when I got back. The Library's collections from this area are not the largest in the world, with institutions such as the Scott Polar Research Institute and the Royal Geographical Society (to name a few) holding a wealth of material, but there is a noteworthy body of material which is well supported by the wider collection of Official Publications and Newspapers (especially in the case of an expedition such as the 'Terra Nova').

That said, there are some stand out items and a notable collection of miscellaneous materials held here. Captain Scott's diary is one of the Library's star collection items and the journal 'The South Polar Times' (shelfmark: Tab.444.d.6.) was the first publication printed on the Antarctic continent. Publications by Frank Hurley and Herbert Ponting also feature, including Ponting's 'The Great White South' (1921, shelfmark: 010460.g.1). These items contribute to a wealth of published material relating to the Antarctic and explorers such as Scott and Roald Amundsen.

As well as holding materials relating to the initial exploration of Antarctica, the Library has a significant collection regarding the continent in the later twentieth century; where scientific progress and international co-operation become the order of the day. Materials arising from events such as the Antarctic Treaty or organisations such as the British Antarctic Survey, as well as many academic texts and articles regarding the continent, are insightful on their own but also suggest an evolving relationship between global society and the frozen continent.

[PJH]

War, Struggle and Equality: the Tuskegee Airmen

War bonds poster featuring an unnamed Tuskegee airman (displayed on Wikipedia's Tuskegee Airmen entry)

On January 10th the Institute for the Study of the Americas hosted a screening of the documentary, 'Double Victory', an account of the Tuskegee Airmen and their exploits in World War Two. These pilots of the 332nd Figther Group and 477th Bomber Group of the U. S. Army Air Corps were the first African American aviators of the U.S. Armed Forces but they faced a struggle against institutionalised racism in order to fly, fight and be treated as equals during and after the war.

'Double Victory' is a documentary account of this struggle, narrated by Cuba Gooding Jr. and produced to be viewed alongside the film 'Red Tails' (both productions are Lucas Film projects). The high point of the evening, however, was the attendence of two Tuskegee Airmen, Le Roy Gillead and Alexander Jefferson. Gillead and Jefferson's recollections added a great deal to the evening, with Jefferson talking about the struggle for African American men to be allowed to fly and his experiences as a German POW and Gillead highlighting the struggle for equality undertaken by officers who did not see front line service.

Both men also talked about their pride at being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, along with roughly 300 other Tuskegee Airmen. During the award ceremony, President George W. Bush paid tribute to the airmen, saying, "The Tuskegee Airmen helped win a war, and you helped change our nation for the better. Yours is the story of the human spirit, and it ends like all great stories do – with wisdom and lessons and hope for tomorrow." A copy of the act bestowing the medals can be found here and Library holds a number of resources relating to the Tuskegee Airmen, their forces service and the relationship their actions had to the subsequent Civil Rights Movement.

The Library's collection of American newspapers contain a number of insights, with articles such as the Chicago Defender's, '332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without a Loss' and many accounts of how the Freedman Field Mutiny and other incidents regarding racial equality were reported. There are also published service accounts, Alexander Jefferson's, 'Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free' (shelfmark: YC.2005.a.5960) is a good example, and various journal articles on the exploits and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen in Europe and the US.

[JJ and PJH]

Canada walks away from Kyoto: another Official Publications post

Publicity photograph from Durban 2011, courtesy of 'UNclimatechange' 

Canada's intention to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol has been a badly kept secret for some time, as the BBC have pointed out. However, questions as to why and what the impact will be still arise; institutions such as the British Library and electronic repositories of official publications can provide a wealth of useful material to furnish answers. 

There are several online repositories that offer useful resources on the Protocol in particular and on the nature and impact of climate change more widely.  Much of this information can be found via the UN Climate Change Portal, which provides useful statistical overviews and links to more detailed reports and numbers from other branches of the United Nations. Information can also be found on UN Data, such as this Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data chart which illustrates output from 41 countries between 1990 and 2008.

The UN also makes available a wide range of materials from the recent Durban Climate Change Conference, these can be found here and provide a large amount of data on a complex and still evolving political event. Canada's withdrawal came subsequent to the Environment Minister, Peter Kent, attending the Durban conference and confirming that the protocol, 'does not represent the way forward for Canada'. Canada's significance as a carbon dioxide emitter is summed up by this graph, perhaps most importantly it also shows how much an economy dominated by oil exports also contributes in relative terms.

The Alberta Oil Sands (which have been on this blog before) have been suggested as a reason for Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol despite not being mentioned directly by the government. This is perhaps appropriate as such decisions rarely come down to a single issue, instead being the result of a complex assortment of social, economic and political pressures. As such, it may be worthwhile also paying attention to Canada's overall status as a pollutor, projected trade interests, demographic pressures and domestic energy needs, all of which could cause Canada trouble in adhering to the conditions set by the protocol and its potential successor.

The British Library holds a significant amount of material relating to climate change and the Kyoto Protocol produced in various countries and from myriad research backgrounds. In particular the Science, Technology and Medicine collections contain English language journals and academic monographs from around the world. There are also publications relating specifically to Canada, including Rodney White, 'Climate Change in Canada' (2010: YK.2011.a.16488) or the previous government's 'Moving Forward on Climate Change: a plan for honouring our Kyoto agreement' (2005, shelfmark: OPF.2006.x.35).

[PJH and JJ]