National Geographic : 2015 Jan
In the Loupe With Bill Bonner, National Geographic Archivist PHOTO: HERBERT G. PONTING, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE A Failed First Though they planted the Union Jack (at far left) upon arrival at the South Pole in January 1912, members of Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic expedition had found Norwegian flags already flying there. Roald Amundsen’s rival expedition had reached the Pole first—and then departed—a little more than a month before. But Edward Wilson, Scott, Edgar Evans, Lawrence Oates, and Henry Bowers (left to right) still marked their accomplishment with this photo. A look through the loupe reveals how they all made it into the frame: A string to trigger the camera is visible, grasped in Wilson’s mitten. The portrait was one of their last. None of them survived the journey home. Within a month Evans had died. A month later Oates, frostbitten, left the group and never was seen again. The frozen bodies of the rest were found in their tent, along with the negative for this photograph, in November 1912. —Margaret G. Zackowitz Subscriptions For subscriptions, gift memberships, or changes of address, contact Customer Service at ngmservice.com or call 1-800-NGS-LINE (647-5463). Outside the U.S. and Canada please call +1-813-979-6845. Contributions to the National Geographic Society are tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. | Copyright © 2014 National Geographic Society | All rights reserved. National Geographic and Yellow Border: Registered Trademarks ® Marcas Registradas. National Geographic assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Printed in U.S.A. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (ISSN 0027-9358) PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, 1145 17TH ST. NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036. ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP: $39.00 U .S. DELIVERY, $44.00 TO CANADA, $51.00 TO INTERNATIONAL ADDRESSES. SINGLE ISSUE: $7.00 U .S. DELIVERY, $10.00 CANADA, $15.00 INTERNATIONAL. (ALL PRICES IN U.S . FUNDS; INCLUDES SHIPPING AND HAN- DLING.) PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WASHINGTON, DC, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PO BOX 62130, TAMPA, FL 33662. IN CANADA, AGREEMENT NUMBER 40063649, RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ADDRESSES TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PO BOX 4412 STN. A, TORONTO, ONTARIO M5W 3W2. UNITED KINGDOM NEWSSTAND PRICE £5.50 . REPR . EN FRANCE: EMD FRANCE SA, BP 1029, 59011 LILLE CEDEX; TEL. 320.300.302; CPPAP 0715U89037; DIRECTEUR PUBLICATION: D. TASSINARI DIR. RESP. ITALY; RAPP IMD SRL, VIA G. DA VELATE 11, 20162 MILANO; AUT. TRIB . MI 258 26/5/84 POSTE ITALIANE SPA; SPED. ABB. POST. DL 353/2003 (CONV L.27/02/2004 N.46) ART 1 C. 1 DCB MILANO STAMPA QUAD/GRAPHICS, MARTINSBURG, WV 25401. MEMBERS: IF THE POSTAL SERVICE ALERTS US THAT YOUR MAGAZINE IS UNDELIVERABLE, WE HAVE NO FURTHER OBLIGATION UNLESS WE RECEIVE A CORRECTED ADDRESS WITHIN TWO YEARS.