‘A gale in the pack’
Date
1847
Creator
Thomas Picken (1798 - 1870, British) , Engraver
After
John Edward Davis (1815 - 1877, British) , Naval officer
Object type
Library reference
RCN15797
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 135mm
width (print): 219mm
width (print): 219mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Maritime scene showing HMS Erebus and HMS Terror under short sail in loose ice floes during a storm on 20 January 1842.
Plate from the A voyage of discovery and research to the Southern and Antarctic regions, during the years 1839-43, by James Clark Ross, vol. 2, (John Murray, London, 1847), pp.168/169.
The plate is inscribed: ‘I.E.Davis, Del. T. Picken lith. Day & Haghe, lithrs. to the Queen. A GALE IN THE PACK, 20TH JANUARY 1842. London, J. Murray, Albemarle Street.’
The accompanying text states relates that: ‘Soon after midnight our ships were involved in an ocean of rolling fragments of ice, hard as floating rocks of granite, which were dashed against them by the waves with so much violence that their masts quivered…By backing and filling the sails, we endeavoured to avoid collision with the larger masses…the rudder of the Erebus was so much damaged as to be no longer of any use…the Terror’s was completely destroyed…’
John Edward Davis (1815-1877) British naval officer serving aboard HMS Terror during the Antarctic Expedition of 1839-1843.
Sir James Clarke Ross (1800-1862) British polar explorer and naval explorer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1828. He commanded the Erebus and Terror Antarctic Expedition of 1839-1843.
Plate from the A voyage of discovery and research to the Southern and Antarctic regions, during the years 1839-43, by James Clark Ross, vol. 2, (John Murray, London, 1847), pp.168/169.
The plate is inscribed: ‘I.E.Davis, Del. T. Picken lith. Day & Haghe, lithrs. to the Queen. A GALE IN THE PACK, 20TH JANUARY 1842. London, J. Murray, Albemarle Street.’
The accompanying text states relates that: ‘Soon after midnight our ships were involved in an ocean of rolling fragments of ice, hard as floating rocks of granite, which were dashed against them by the waves with so much violence that their masts quivered…By backing and filling the sails, we endeavoured to avoid collision with the larger masses…the rudder of the Erebus was so much damaged as to be no longer of any use…the Terror’s was completely destroyed…’
John Edward Davis (1815-1877) British naval officer serving aboard HMS Terror during the Antarctic Expedition of 1839-1843.
Sir James Clarke Ross (1800-1862) British polar explorer and naval explorer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1828. He commanded the Erebus and Terror Antarctic Expedition of 1839-1843.
Associated place