The recent cold snap provides the perfect introduction to January’s item of the month – no less than the first book written, printed, illustrated and bound in the Antarctic!
Aurora Australis, 1908-1909 was produced by the British Antarctic Expedition (or Nimrod Expedition) led by Ernest Shackleton as they over-wintered on Ross Island. The sheer logistical and physical barriers the production team had to overcome in order to create the book make this most rare of publications a fascinating polar artifact.
Fewer than one hundred copies were ever produced and the Caird Library holds two of the surviving copies.
You can read the full item of the month and see a larger version of the title page on the main museum website.
Gary (Assistant Librarian)
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