work

Galleries and Reading Room

Café

Shop

Library

Our galleries are quietest on weekdays and weekend mornings. At busy times, particularly on Saturdays, you may need to queue for our temporary exhibitions.

We’re undertaking some research with website visitors to learn more about how people find access-related information provided by museums. This survey shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!

Help us organize our website content.

Polar Exploration: Townsend Thorndike Collection

Printed material

A picture of Jan Mayen [Island] in 1639 by Sir [William] Martin Conway (1856-1937), mountaineer, explorer of Spitsbergen and art historian, from an unidentified periodical

"The Hidden Tragedies of the Arctic Whaling Fleet" by Robert Dunn, from Harper's Weekly, plus a cutting showing a photograph of Dunn in 1898

"The Poles" by George Fitch, from an unidentified newspaper

"Recent Explorations in Siberia" by Ales Hrdlicka (1869-1943), from Science

"Eskimo Marriage, Music and Philosophy" by Gregory Mason, from The Outlook, relating studies by Christian Leden

Title page of the journal Bedrock, listing articles published in 1912 including "How could I prove that I had been to the Pole" by H.H. Turner

Summary of late 19th century Polar exploration, from an unidentified German publication

"Eskimo Dogs for the Market", describing breeding Eskimo dogs in Grove Park, London, from the Scientific American

"South Pole Ahoy!", from Life magazine, parody claiming that the South Pole has been reached by the magazine's representatives and mentioning both Robert Peary and Frederick Cook

"The Unknown Land", from unknown American newspaper, reporting on the search for the Arctic land-mass Peary claimed to have sighted and named Crocker Land

"In the vicinity of St. John's Newfoundland", from unidentified periodical, reproducing photographs by W.A.B. Sclater

"To a Sea-Bird lying in a case in the Bird Museum, University of Texas", poem by Clyde Walton Hill from unidentified periodical

"The Ultimate North", poem written by Robert M. Green for a dinner given to Captain Robert Bartlett (member of the Peary expeditions) by Dr. Townsend W. Thorndike

"The Eskimo Dogs", poem by Alice Jean Cleator, from a periodical concerned with animal welfare

Extract from "Passing the Icebergs", a poem by "Read"

2 pages from geography textbooks, each with a map showing the Earth from above the North Pole

Remarks on the proposed admission of the Rev. Dr. Stanley to the place of Dean in the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster

"Mobilizing the Arctic" by Christian Leden, from The Outlook

Wellcome uses cookies.

"Mobilizing the Arctic" by Christian Leden, from The Outlook

Collection contents

About this work

Publication/Creation

Physical description

Finding aids

Permanent link