Endurance expedition limited edition platinum prints
Purchase a print of one of Frank Hurley's iconic Endurance expedition photographs.
To celebrate Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914–1917), better known today as the Endurance expedition, the Society has created the first ever platinum prints of images by the expedition’s official photographer, Frank Hurley, using the original glass plate and celluloid negatives housed in the Society's Collections in South Kensington, London.
Hurley’s images are at the heart of the Endurance story, providing us with a unique and compelling record of Shackleton’s expedition, the ship, his men and the challenges they faced.
During night take flashlight of ship beset by pressure. This necessitated some 20 flashes, one behind each salient pressure hummock no less than 10 of the flashes being required to satisfactorily illuminate the ship herself.Frank Hurley
Each of the chosen 42 images is available in a strict limited edition, with three size options and made from the first digital scans ever to be made directly from Hurley’s exquisitely processed negatives. Prints are also accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Using the platinum technique, these museum-grade prints are hand-made to order by the master printmaker Georges Charlier and his team at Salto-Ulbeek in Belgium: today’s leading experts in this delicate technique.
This handcrafted printing process is far removed from the world of mass produced silver-based papers. In platinum printing each print from an edition is created individually as though it were the only example of that image, an unrepeatable dialogue between the image, the chemistry and the printer's skill.
The Society’s Hurley platinum prints have created a new chapter in the history of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition.
During the day I hacked through the thick walls of the refrigerator to retrieve the negatives stored therein. They were located beneath four feet of mushy ice and, by stripping to the waist and diving under, I hauled them out. Fortunately, they are soldered up in double tin linings, so I am hopeful they may not have suffered by their submersion. On return to camp my team bolted owing to a killer whale breaking through the ice but 10 yards ahead…Frank Hurley’s diary, 2 November 1915
How to buy an Endurance expedition platinum print
Prices from £950.00 + VAT. Delivery charged separately.
Further details on the selection of prints and sizes available can be found here:
Please get in touch to purchase a print or to arrange a private viewing.
