Item 75 offers a massive compendium of new geographical information as first learned. It is volumes 1-50 of the Royal Geographical Society's Journal, volumes 1-22 of its Proceedings, and volumes 1-14 of the new series of the Proceedings.

These date from 1832-1892. This is literally an account of new discoveries as they happened. The Geographical Society sponsored many of the great expeditions all over the world, and some of the earliest accounts are found in these publications, presented by great explorers such as Burton and Livingstone. £30,000 (US $46,620).

 

Here is a book featuring 217 mounted photographs of a 19th century exploration, though this was really more a look back in time than in place. Its title is Atlas Trojanischer Alterthumer. The photographs are from Henrich Schlieman's excavations at Troy. Schlieman conducted the first major archeological digs to recover artifacts from ancient Greece. Schlieman today has a mixed record. His procedures were rough and he destroyed much of what he was investigating, but then again, there wasn't much experience at that point in archeological preservation. Certainly, Schlieman did much to develop interest in what could be learned about the ancient world from artifacts that still remained. Item 76. £16,500 (US $25,630).

 

We will close with the last piece in the catalogue, item 227, a vintage print of a photograph that elicits an eerie sadness. It is a picture of Robert Falcon Scott and the four comrades who accompanied him at the South Pole. Scott set out for the South Pole, which had never been reached, in 1911. He hoped to be first. In what must have been great disappointment, when they arrived in January 1912, they discovered the Roald Amundsen had beaten them there by a few weeks. Disappointment quickly turned to tragedy for Scott and his men. The weather, never very pleasant at the South Pole, turned brutally cold and windy. Their supplies ran low and finally, they could push on no more. All five perished. The photograph was taken on January 18, 1912, at the Pole, while the men were still in good health. The photographer was Dr. E.A. Wilson, who managed to appear in the photo with the others by attaching a long string to the shutter. His camera and the film lay in the snow with the men's bodies until found eight months later. 

 

Maggs Bros. Ltd. may be reached at +44 (0)20 7493 7160 or travel@maggs.com. Their website is www.maggs.com.