TITLE PAGE VARIANTS



Launched: 15 March 2017.         Last updated: 22 December 2018


The Title Pages of the Aurora Australis can appear in four different states or variants:
• Color (A) and Black & White (B), and…
• With (A) and without (B) a vapor plume above Mt. Erebus.

     
Left: Variant A - Color. Right: Variant B - Black & White
     
Left: Variant A - With plume. Right: Variant B- Without plume

The table below documents these states.

There are 68 instances of the title page being in color versus 4 instances of it being in black & white.

And there are 48 instances of there being a plume above Mt. Erebus and 23 instances of no plume.

Why the plume should appear on some title pages and not on others is open to speculation. One logical explanation is that Marston added the plume to the lithographic plate (aluminum) after the print run had started. On the other hand, if one looks closely at the title pages without the plume, a faint ghosting of the plume can be seen. This suggests that the plume had been on the plate but was later removed. If so, why? The plume, in my opinion, is not really a very good representation of a plume. Maybe Marston thought so too and just removed it. Who knows?

Photographs of Title Pages may be seen at https://rs41.smugmug.com/Antarctic/Aurora-Australis/The-Title-Page/)


AURORA AUSTRALIS -Title page color Plume
A PUBLIC or INSTITUTIONAL OWNERSHIP (01-99) Color Plume
  Owner / Name Black & White No Plume Copy No Copy No Copy No Copy No
1 Australian Antarctic Division. Davis copy. Color No Plume 20
2 British Library. Streeter copy. Color No Plume 32 250
3 John Carter Brown Library. Swan copy. Color No Plume 1
4 Canterbury Museum. Nuttall copy.  Color Plume 29 289
5 Christ's College, Cambridge. Priestley copy. Color No Plume 11
6 Columbia University. Bassett Jones copy. Color No Plume 2
7 Dartmouth College. Stefansson copy. Color No Plume 3
8 Dulwich College. Kipling copy. Black & white No Plume 12 280
9 Dundee Heritage Trust. Joel copy. Color Plume 13
10 Eton College. Eckstein copy. Color Plume 35
11 Harvard University. Frost copy. Color No Plume 4
12 Huntington Library. Edith Shackleton copy. Color unknown 5
13 Kislak Foundation. Maylin copy. Bernacchi copy. Color No Plume 41 268 303 312
14 Library of Congress Color No Plume 6
15 Morgan Library Color Plume 7
16 Museum Victoria. Eager copy. Ramsay copy. Color Plume 25
17 National Library of Australia. Kivell copy. Color Plume 21
18 National Library of Australia. White copy. Color No Plume 33
19 National Library of Scotland Color No Plume 14
20 National Maritime Museum. Dawson-Lambton copy. Color Plume 15 282
21 National Maritime Museum. Elspeth Invernairn copy. Color Plume 16
22 National Trust Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Carnock copy.  unknown unknown 45
23 New York Public Library. Spencer copy. Color Plume 8
24 Newberry Library. Marshall copy. Kendall copy. Fitzgerald copy. Color Plume 34 168
25 Oates Collection Color Plume 42
26 Royal Collections Windsor Castle Color Plume 17
27 Royal Geographical Society Color No Plume 43 206
28 Scott Polar Research Institute. Emily Shackleton copy. Mill copy. Color No Plume 18
29 Scott Polar Research Institute. Priestley copy. no t-p no t-p 36
30 Scott Polar Research Library - Dunlop Dummy (no text or illustration) no t-p no t-p 38
31 Scott Polar Research Institute. Dunlop giant tick copy. Color Plume 39 317
32 South Australian Museum. Mawson copy. Color No Plume 37
33 State Library of N.S.W. Dixson Library Color Plume 22
34 State Library of N.S.W. Mitchell Library Color Plume 23
35 State Library of South Australia. Symon copy. Color Plume 26
36 State Library of Tasmania. Davis copy. Color Plume 24
37 State Library of Victoria. Mackeller copy. facsimile unknown 44
38 Turnbull Library. Kinsey copy. Color Plume 30
39 Turnbull Library. Turnbull copy. Color Plume 31
40 Turnbull Library. Truscott copy. Color (facsimile) Plume 40 273
41 University of Adelaide. Mawson copy. Color Plume 27
42 UCLA. Goodwin copy.  Color Plume 9 169
43 University of Chicago Color Plume 10
44 University of New England. Griffith Taylor copy. Davis copy. Color No Plume 28
45 University of Oxford. Bodleian Library. Ehrman copy. Color No Plume 19
TOTAL COLOR 39 23 TOTAL PLUME
TOTAL BLACK & WHITE 1 17 TOTAL NO PLUME
TOTAL UNKNOWN 1 3 TOTAL UNKNOWN
TOTAL OTHER 4 2 TOTAL OTHER
TOTAL 45 45 TOTAL
B PRIVATE OWNERSHIP (100-149)
  Owner / Name     Copy No Copy No Copy No Copy No
1 Seattle copy. Lascaux copy. unknown unknown 100 306
2 Campbell copy. Color unknown 101
3 Crawford copy. Starr copy. Miss Wild copy. Holmes copy. Color No Plume 102 259 288
4 Bay Area collector. Greene copy. Renard 1994. Color Plume 103 133 255
5 Levinson copy. Buckley copy. Color Plume 104 166 271 308
6 Santa Monica copy. Sheaf copy. Baume copy. Color Plume 105 314
7 Lord Shackleton copy. unknown unknown 106
8 F. Edwards 1978. Stephenson copy. Color Plume 107 251
9 Taaffe copy. Belle Donaldson copy. Skellerup copy. Color Plume 108 157 290
10 Taurus copy. Dropmore copy. unknown unknown 109 261 286 311
11 Ernest Joyce copy. Krementz copy. Color Plume 110 309
12 Harrison/Metz copy. unknown unknown 111
13 Brooke-Hitching copy. Color Plume 112 315
14 Private Collection Devon Color Plume 113
15 Norfolk, UK copy. Scott-Fawcett copy. unknown unknown 114
16 West Coast USA copy.Hill copy. Manney copy. Color Plume 115
17 Antipodean Books Color Plume 116 165?
18 Scotland copy. Color Plume 117 163
19 Unknown (previously Brian Frost). unknown unknown 118
20 Private Collection Perth Australia Copy 1 unknown unknown 119
21 Private Collection Perth Australia Copy 2 unknown unknown 120
22 Private Collection New Mexico unknown unknown 121
23 Fitzsimmons copy. Ann Arbor copy. Porter copy. West Virginia copy. Color No Plume 122 267 302 319
24 Private Collection New Zealand. White copy. Reaney copy. Color No Plume 123
25 Brocklehurst copy. Color Plume 124 201
26 Private Collection San Rafael California unknown unknown 125
27 Simper copy. Lysaght copy Color Plume 126 274
28 Cotton copy. Priestley copy. unknown unknown 127
29 Chrisant copy. Bogoievski copy. Black & white unknown 128
30 Stewart copy #1. Zust copy. Renard copy. Since sold. Color Plume 129 254 264
31 Aeneas Mackintosh copy. Dowler copy. Color Plume 130
32 Murray copy. Black & white No Plume 131
33 Maggs copy. Since sold. Color No Plume 132
34 Stancomb-Wills copy. Stewart 2. Black & white Plume 134 266
35 Lady Grey copy. Meridian copy. Color No Plume 135 269
36 Norway copy. Cooper copy. Wild copy. Holmes copy. Keynes copy. Color Plume 136 270
37 Sothebys 2016 Color Plume 137 316
TOTAL COLOR 23 18 TOTAL PLUME
TOTAL BLACK & WHITE 3 6 TOTAL NO PLUME
TOTAL UNKNOWN 11 13 TOTAL UNKNOWN
TOTAL OTHER 0 0 TOTAL OTHER
TOTAL 37 37 TOTAL
C PRIVATE ANONYMOUS OWNERSHIP (150-199)
  Owner / Name     Copy No Copy No Copy No Copy No
1 Argentina Private Collection #1 unknown unknown 150
2 Australia Private Collection #1 NSW unknown unknown 151
3 Australia Private Collection #2 NSW unknown unknown 152
4 Australia Private Collection #3 NSW unknown unknown 153
5 Australia Private Collection #4 Victoria unknown unknown 154
6 Australia Private Collection #5 Victoria unknown unknown 155
7 France Private Collection #1 unknown unknown 156
8 New Zealand Private Collection #1 Near Christchurch Color Plume 157 108 290
9 New Zealand Private Collection #2 Near Lower Hutt unknown unknown 158
10 New Zealand Private Collection #3 Near Wellington unknown unknown 159
11 UK Private Collection #1 Oxford unknown unknown 160
12 UK Private Collection #2 London unknown unknown 161
13 UK Private Collection #3 Sutton Coldfield unknown unknown 162
14 UK Private Collection #4 Scotland Color Plume 163 117
15 UK Private Collection #5 Middlesex unknown unknown 164
16 UK Private Collection #6 Herefordshire Color Plume 165 116?
17 UK Private Collection #7 Color Plume 166
18 UK Private Collection #8 London unknown unknown 167
19 USA Private Collection #1 Illinois Color Plume 168 34
20 USA Private Collection #2 Los Angeles area Color Plume 169 9
TOTAL COLOR 6 6 TOTAL PLUME
TOTAL BLACK & WHITE 0 0 TOTAL NO PLUME
TOTAL UNKNOWN 14 14 TOTAL UNKNOWN
TOTAL OTHER 0 0 TOTAL OTHER
TOTAL 20 20 TOTAL
D COPIES THAT LACK PROVENANCE, ETC. (200-249)
  Owner / Name     Copy No Copy No Copy No Copy No
1 Bluntisham/Walcot unknown Plume 200 162?
2 Vacant - - 201
3 Herbert Dyce Murp;hy unknown unknown 202
4 University of Otago, Hocken Library unknown unknown 203
5 Clare Lodge unknown unknown 204
6 Vacant - - 205
7 Vacant - - 206
8 Prof. Edgeworth David unknown unknown 207
9 Vacant - - 208
10 Sir John Smith unknown unknown 209
11 Kucharek copy unknown unknown 210
TOTAL COLOR 0 1 TOTAL PLUME
TOTAL BLACK & WHITE 0 0 TOTAL NO PLUME
TOTAL UNKNOWN 7 6 TOTAL UNKNOWN
TOTAL VACANT 4 4 TOTAL VACANT
TOTAL 11 11 TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL GRAND TOTAL
TOTAL COLOR 68 48 TOTAL PLUME
TOTAL BLACK & WHITE 4 23 TOTAL NO PLUME
TOTAL UNKNOWN 33 36 TOTAL UNKNOWN
TOTAL VACANT/OTHER 8 6 TOTAL VACANT/OTHER
TOTAL 113 113 TOTAL


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