A 100-year-old notebook left behind at Captain Scott's last expedition base at Cape Evans, Antarctica was spotted by researchers and restored.
The notebook, which is a "Wellcome Photographic Exposure Record and Dairy 1910," was discovered outside of the 1911 Terra Nova base after summer snow melt revealed its hiding place, the Antarctic Heritage Trust reported. The fascinating find belonged to George Murray Levick, a surgeon, zoologist and photographer who passed away in 1956.
Levick was part of the Northern Party and an expedition that ran from 1910 to 1913; the notebook clearly displays the explorers name and contains pencil notes detailing the date, subjects and exposure details displayed in photographs he took at Cape Adare before the brutal winter set in.
"It's an exciting find. The notebook is a missing part of the official expedition record. After spending seven years conserving Scott's last expedition building and collection, we are delighted to still be finding new [artifacts]," said Nigel Watson, NZAHT's Executive Director.
A century of ice and water damage has caused the notebook's binding to dissolve, but each page has been conserved by the NZAHT and sewn back together; the cover has also been reconstructed.
"George Murray Levick's notebook required specialist conservation treatment. The NZAHT engaged French Paper Conservator Aline Leclercq to undertake the meticulous task of conserving the notebook. This involved separating each individual page, stabilising and cleaning the pages, rebuilding the notebook into sections before sewing the book back together and reconstructing the cover remnants," the NZAHT stated.
The delicate conservation treatment will most likely allow the notebook (which details photos photographs held by the Scott Polar Research Institute) to be studied in greater detail without the risk of further damage.
The notebook will be returned to Scott's Cape Evans base, which boasts over 1,000 artifacts.
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