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Rare images of Shackleton's famous Antarctic expedition go on show in Manchester

Xinhua, April 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

A collection of rarely seen images of the famous 1914 expedition to the Antarctic by the explorer Ernest Shackleton went on show in Manchester Saturday.

It is described by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) as one of the greatest ever photographic records of human survival.

The RGS said their exhibition honors the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the men of the Endurance Expedition of 1914-1917.

"Newly digitised images will reveal previously unseen details of the crew's epic struggle for survival both before and after their ship was destroyed," said the RGS.

At the heart of the exhibition, at Manchester Central Library, are more than 90 high resolution images, taken by Shackleton's official expedition photographer Frank Hurley, and saved by him under the most extreme circumstances to provide a lasting record of the men of the Endurance and their story.

The images have been taken from fragile glass plate and celluloid negatives that have been stored securely at the Royal Geographical Society for more than 80 years.

A spokesman for the RGS said: "Now viewed at full definition, the images unlock the remarkable detail captured originally by Hurley in his photographic processing, including interior images of the Endurance and high resolution information of life on the pack ice of the Weddell Sea."

"As one of the first truly modern documentary photographers and film-makers, Australian born Hurley hoped to have his images seen at as large scale size as possible. 100 years later, this intention is being honored with giant dimension prints, some over 2 meters in width and height, at the heart of the exhibition, providing viewers with a sense of awe and wonder," said the spokesman.

Shackleton ensured that not a single man on his ship Endurance died after it was trapped in early 1915 and later sank.

The crew spent months in makeshift camps, before using three lifeboats to reach the uninhabited Elephant Island.

Shackleton and five others then made an epic 1,300 km journey in an open boat to reach South Georgia to raise the alarm and find a ship to rescue those still stranded.

As well as the images, the exhibition includes a number of "precious survivors" -- personal artefacts that were carried through every stage of the successive journeys for survival from the Weddell Sea to Elephant Island and onto South Georgia.

The exhibition has been researched, written and curated by Meredith Hooper, the Antarctic historian, writer and broadcaster, from original source material in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, whilst also drawing also on information provided by descendants of some of the 28 men on the expedition, said the RGS.

The exhibition in Manchester continues until June 11. Endit