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Winter is coming…

We’ve had a schizophrenic start to the cold weather here in Newport News but since my car door was iced shut yesterday morning, I began thinking about all things cold and frosty. I’m usually bundled up in blankets, or I have layers upon layers of clothing, so I wondered… How did those out in the freezing cold seas dress?

The following samples from our photographic collection just might give you an idea:

To the left, we see an image of James R. Dennistoun dressed for the cold in a sweater and hat as he leaves to feed the mules on board the Terra Nova.

In 1912, he joined the British Antarctic Expedition of Captain Robert Falcon Scott as a crewmember in charge of the mules and sled dogs that were to be used in order to be the first to reach the South Pole.

Photograph taken by D. F. Welch, 1912
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In this next image we see Mr. Otis and Wheelman dressed in heavy jackets, hats, and gloves during the 1901 Baldwin-Ziegler Polar Expedition to find a possible route to the North Pole.

Three vessels left from Tromsø, Norway on July 16, 1901 in order to be a part of the journey: Frithjof, America and Belgica.

Photograph taken by William S. Champ, 1901
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To the left, we see three team members of the British Antarctic Expedition all bundled up from head to toe as they stand on an ice floe near the bow of a ship.

Photograph taken by D. F. Welch, 1912
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Here we see two native Alaskan boys wearing hats and heavy fur jackets as they sit in a kayak in Nunivak, Alaska.

Photograph taken by Edward Curtis, 1928
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Finally, this is more like what I imagine most of us feel and look like towards the end of winter: under the weather, fed up and waiting for spring.

In this image to the left, we see Edward “Teddy” R. G. R. Evans, second in command of the British Antarctic Expedition on the day that they got to Akaroa, New Zealand in April 1912. He is sitting on deck in a winter jacket and hat with his legs covered in blankets as he smokes his pipe.

Photograph taken by D. F. Welch, 1912
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All there is left to say is good luck, bundle up, and if you’re somewhere out there in single-digit or negative temperatures, think warm thoughts for a few more months?

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