AURORA AUSTRALIS


Stencilling on the upper & lower boards


Launched: 14 December 2018.         Last updated: 1 January 2019


Introduction

The Aurora Australis was bound in actual wooden boards taken from the Venesta packing cases used to ship expedition supplies. (Venesta was an early form of Plywood. See http://www.antarctic-circle.org/aurora.production.htm#cases)

Often these stencils are used to identify individual copies of the Aurora (the chicken copy, the butter copy, etc.).

Copies can be divided up as follows. The numbers given are for those that have been inspected or for those that information is available. For some copies no information on stenciilling is known.

1) those with no stencilling at all. TOTAL: 7
2) those with stencilling on the inner upper board only, TOTAL: 13
3) those with stencilling on the inner lower board only, TOTAL: 11
4) those with stencilling on both boards, TOTAL: 43
5) presence of stencilling unknown. TOTAL: 45
A variety of words and numbers appear in full or in part in the stencilling. The number of occurences are shown below on the right. A single Aurora may have one, two or more stencillings; therefore, those listed represent a total of 103 occurences but not Auroras.
Photographs of stencilling may be seen at https://rs41.smugmug.com/Antarctic/Aurora-Australis/Stencilling/)
  AURORA AUSTRALIS -Stencilling Occurences    
   
  Stencilling (all or a portion) Occurences Copy Number(s)
1 BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1907 25 4,9,12,17,18,26,27,29,37,38,42,43,45,103,104,105,109,110,113,115,122,123,128,130,136
2 VARIOUS NUMBERS 10 21,24,35,40,103,107,108,110,112,115
3 MISCELLANEOUS 9 1,28,34,43,107,118,123,130,135
4 BUTTER 7 9,18,20,21,101 (twice),109
5 FRUIT or BOTTLED, CRYSTALISED, TINNED or LIQUID FRUIT 7 5,14,27,45,102 (twice),128
6 OATMEAL 5 3,7,122,129 (twice)
7 J & T Bayley company stamp 4 4,15,34,116
8 BEANS or BAKED BEANS 3 31,41,102
9 JULIENNE SOUP 3 24,30,41
10 PETIT POIS 3 12,37,137
11 HONEY 2 6,14
12 STEWED KIDNEYS 2 1,19
13 SUGAR or GRANULATED SUGAR or DEMERARA SUGAR 2 22,116,
14 TURTLE SOUP or MOCK TURTLE SOUP 2 6,17
15 UNKNOWN WORD(s) 2 124,137
16 CHICKEN 1 25
17 CHOCALATE 1 108
18 CUTLETS 1 11
19 IRISH STEW 1 11
20 MARMALADE 1 135
21 MARROW 1 124
22 MEDICAL 1 22
23 MUTTON or HARICOT MUTTON 1 28
24 PATES 1 2
25 POULTRY 1 131
26 PROVISIONS 1 35?
27 RATIONS 1 38
28 SOAP 1 13
29 SUET 1 131
30 SYRUP 1 113
31 TEA 1 112
32 VEAL 1 104
  103  
       
1 No stencilling (7) 7 8,23,32,33,36,126,127
2 Stencilling on upper board only (13) 13 5,13,26,30,42,100,105,132,134,162?,262,263,277
3 Stencilling on lower board only (11) 11 2,7,10,19,20,25,29,31,39,40,136
4 Stencilling on both boards (43) 43 1,3,4,6,11,12,14,15,17,18,21,22,24,27,28,34,35,37,38,41,43,45,101,102,103,104,107,108,109,110,112,113,115,116,122,123,124,128,129,130,131,135,137
5 Unknown (45) 45 16,44,106,111,114,117,119,120,121,125,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,158,159,160,161,164,202,203,204,207,209,210,260,278,279,281,283,284,285,292,293,294,296,298,299,300,301,307,313
LIQUID, BOTTLED FRUIT
PETIT POIS
OATMEAL
SUET, POULTRY
CHICKEN
HONEY
OATMEAL
OATMEAL
CHICKEN
OATMEAL
BOTTLED FRUIT
PETIT POIS
MOCK TURTLE SOUP
KIDNEY SOUP
OATMEAL
1903 [sic], CHOCOLATE
BUTTER
PETIT POIS
PETIT POIS
TINNED FRUIT, BUTTER & BEANS
JULIENNE SOUP
OATMEAL
1903 [sic], CHOCOLATE
BUTTER
HARMUTT
BEANS
JULIENNE SOUP
BEANS
31
31
LIQUID, BOTTLED FRUIT
HARMUTT
BUTTER
19
TINNED FRUIT, BUTTER & BEANS
OATMEAL

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