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The Arctic region has been the subject of much popular writing. This book considers nineteenth-century representations of the Arctic, and draws upon an extensive range of evidence that will allow the 'widest connections' to emerge from a 'cross-disciplinary analysis' using different methodologies and subject matter. It positions the Arctic alongside more thoroughly investigated theatres of Victorian enterprise. In the nineteenth century, most images were in the form of paintings, travel narratives, lectures given by the explorers themselves and photographs. The book explores key themes in Arctic images which impacted on subsequent representations through text, painting and photography. For much of the nineteenth century, national and regional geographical societies promoted exploration, and rewarded heroic endeavor. The book discusses images of the Arctic which originated in the activities of the geographical societies. The Times provided very low-key reporting of Arctic expeditions, as evidenced by its coverage of the missions of Sir John Franklin and James Clark Ross. However, the illustrated weekly became one of the main sources of popular representations of the Arctic. The book looks at the exhibitions of Arctic peoples, Arctic exploration and Arctic fauna in Britain. Late nineteenth-century exhibitions which featured the Arctic were essentially nostalgic in tone. The Golliwogg's Polar Adventures, published in 1900, drew on adult representations of the Arctic and will have confirmed and reinforced children's perceptions of the region. Text books, board games and novels helped to keep the subject alive among the young.
imagination, no less significant to that era than the exoticism of the Orient or the darkness at the heart of Africa. This book positions the Arctic alongside more thoroughly investigated theatres of Victorian enterprise. It seeks to extend understanding of polar and cultural history through the examinination of a wide variety of nineteenth century Arctic representations, using theoretical approaches devised by
The press in its various forms was instrumental in the dissemination of Arctic representations. Its rapid expansion in the second half of the nineteenth century was the result of technological improvements in the industry, such as the development of more efficient printing presses. The faster distribution of news, initially through the railway system and later through the electric
coincided with Franklin’s 1845 voyage, ensured that the nature of Arctic representations would have changed anyway. The fact that the outcome of the voyage shattered any existing image of British invincibility in the Arctic substantially altered their tone as well. The publication of the Illustrated London News and its competitors had an enormous impact on the nature of representations
. However, it is probable that public interest had diminished because Arctic representations had emphasised a continuing, and largely unfulfilled, quest rather than illustrating ‘moments of discovery’. Such lacklustre representations of the Arctic, when set beside those that emanated from other regions where British explorers were becoming increasingly active, did little to keep Arctic exploration at the
in many of them. Although the history of recent Arctic exploration was omitted from school syllabuses, in favour of history associated with Britain and the empire, Arctic geography, though often inaccurate, racist and stereotypical, and at times peripheral, was featured in textbooks throughout the century. However, the opportunity to modernise Arctic representations by inspiring the rising generation
Arctic in the public eye, reminded viewers of heroism, privation, triumph and disaster during recent Arctic expeditions but did not add to the total of Arctic representations which could be viewed by the public. 113 Figure 21 W. Thomas Smith, ‘They forged the last link with their lives