David Spilman Fine Books

Antarctica; Leaves from a Diary Kept on Board an Exploring Vessel [Robert Falcon Scott Discovery Expedition 1901-1904]

Ford, C. Reginald, FRGS

Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, [1908]. Very Good Plus. First Edition. C.R. Ford. [6x4.625in] 31 pp., [1], 12 images and 1 illustration by Ford in text; Black, brown and yellow mottled design on pebbled paper with white ink and embossed "Antarctica" in upper left front, the verso is light brown with a free end papers of the same uncoated pebble paper, yap untrimmed covers, reddish brown cord 3 stab binding, with all text edges trimmed; Minor shelf wear to covers with rubbing to covers, edges, and corners, light soiling to edges of text, binding is tight and text unmarked. [Rosove 131.A1 d unrecorded variant binding, Conrad p.112, Taurus 44] DK. Item #14452

Charles Reginald Ford (1880-1972) was a New Zealand Antarctic explorer, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), and became a well regarded architect in New Zealand.

Ford served as Chief Steward aboard the Discovery during Robert Falcon Scott's British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04. Having joined the Royal Navy at fifteen, he volunteered for the expedition and took on the dual roles of steward and Scott's personal secretary and accountant. Scott himself praised Ford's diligence, noting that he "soon mastered every detail of our stores, and kept his books with such accuracy that I could rely implicitly on his statements" — a critical function given how dependent the men's survival was on careful provisioning (CamAuckland War Memorial Museum).
In 1903, while nursing a broken leg from a skiing accident, Ford nonetheless participated in a sledging trip to lay a depot for the Southern Party at Minna Bluff. Beyond logistics, Ford contributed to the expedition's morale through the South Polar Times, producing watercolour illustrations and typing much of the 1903 issue after Shackleton was invalided home. He also photographed wildlife and landscapes throughout the voyage.

After the expedition, he assisted Scott in lecture tours in the United Kingdom. In 1906, he returned to New Zealand to get married, study architecture and start a long career. He also published a short booklet on his Antarctic experiences in 1908, drawn from his diary and the first of only three contemporary published accounts of the first Scott voyage. This contemporaneous small pamphlet was intended as a gift or souvenir and not a significant narrative or commentary of the expedition. Also, this copy is a variant binding that is not noted in the major Antarctic bibliographies or in the OCLC listings.

Ford died in Auckland on 19 May 1972, the last surviving member of the British National Antarctic Expedition, and is commemorated in Antarctica by Ford Spur at 84°51' S.

Price: $1,400.00