Entry describing The
Blizzard
from
ANTARCTICA,
1772-1922; FREESTANDING PUBLICATIONS THROUGH 1999
by Michael H. Rosove.
(Santa Monica, California: AdŽlie Books, 2001)
ISBN 0-9705386-0-X.
Used here by kind
permission of the author.
285. [Scott, Robert Falcon. (1868-1912)] (Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922), editor.) The
Blizzard.
285.A1. [Printed aboard the Discovery in the Antarctic: May
1902.] 6 leaves, 25.5 cm tall, 20.3 cm wide. Pagination: (1) illustrated cover
title in blue [ÒNever Mind The Blizzard IÕm all right. May 1902.Ó]; (2) text in
blue [ÒNotesÓ; mostly editorial by Shackleton]; (3) illustration in blue [Mr.
Ike Doggo. . . .]; (4) blank; (5-6) text in blue [untitled verse
by ÒKidÓ, ÒAbout Polar ExplorersÓ, ÒNon-Cuss JackÓ]; (7) illustration in green
[with dog pulling on manÕs seat of pants]; (8) blank; (9) illustration in
purple [ÒP.T.O.Ó]; (10) illustration in purple [identical to p. 9]; (11) text
in blue [ÒA Sealing Tour.Ó]; (12) blank. —— Renard 1432, Conrad p.
122. Very rare.
50 copies produced. The number extant is unknown, but probably very few.
Copies: 40.[1]
This ephemeral item derives from ScottÕs
expedition of 1901-4. Shackleton, who was editor of the shipboard magazine The
South Polar Times
during the Þrst winter, originally intended that The Blizzard would be printed in
multiple copies regularly during the winter months. Since only one original
copy of The South Polar Times would be produced, The Blizzard would make it
possible for each expedition member to possess some of their creative output.
Shackleton announced the plan in the Þrst issue of The South Polar Times (23 April 1902): ÒIt
has been decided to publish as early as possible next month, a paper which is
to be entitled ÔThe BlizzardÕ. . . . One of the main points of
value about ÔThe BlizzardÕ will be the fact that every citizen may obtain a
copy, directly the paper is published. The South Polar Times and ÔThe BlizzardÕ
being published at the same ofÞce, the Editor reserves the right of producing
any article in either, or both, of the above mentioned papers.Ó[2]
Shackleton recorded the actual production:
ÒOwing to the amount of time occupied in producing Þfty copies of this paper,
it must necessarily be very limited in size, so the Editor hopes that those who
do not Þnd their contributions in this number will not be disappointed, for
they may appear at some future date. . . . The services of a
celebrated artist have been engaged for this work, and the portraits are true
to life, even though that may not be the opinion of the subjects themselves,
and if they think them unßattering, they must not blame the artist, but rather
the severe weather, which has even affected the ink used in printing, changing
it from blue to green, and from green to purple; so if they do not see the delicate
contour, the regular features, and the noble expression that their looking
glasses would lead them to expect, in these reproductions, they must blame the
low temperatures which have of late affected the ofÞce machinery.Ó[3]
But The Blizzard turned out to be a
waste basket for The South Polar Times, and it was so inferior an effort that
it died after the Þrst issue. Scott noted the circumstances: ÒBefore the
appearance of the Þrst number of the ÔS.P.T.,Õ . . . the
editor had to face a rather delicate situation . . . the
editorÕs box . . . was crammed with manuscripts, and though
there was not much difÞculty in making a selection, there was some danger of
wounding the feelings of those literary aspirants whose contributions were
rejected. In this dilemma the editor decided to issue a supplementary journal,
to be named the ÔBlizzard,Õ and one number of this redoubtable publication was
produced, but fell so lamentably short of the ÔS.P.T.Õ that the contributors
realised that their mission in life did not lie in the paths of literary
composition, and thereafter the editorÕs box contained only what that astute
individual required for the original periodical. . . . In
mentioning the ÔBlizzardÕ I ought to remark that it has redeeming features in
some capital line caricatures and a distinctly humourous frontispiece by
Barne.Ó[4]
Armitage chastised the publication and had no
lamentation about its fate, Òwhose contents consisted of poetical effusions
rejected by The South Polar Times, [and] did not survive the Þrst number.Ó[5] Armitage nevertheless
saw Þt to reproduce the illustrations in his book Two Years in the Antarctic (pp. 89, 91, 105, and
119).
The full title of this intriguing bit of
ephemera is Never Mind The Blizzard IÕm All Right. It has sometimes been
referred to as the Þrst item printed in the Antarctic, but this may be
incorrect, since other materials were likely printed on the shipÕs copier
before The Blizzard was, even if such items never achieved the distinction of
having been ÒpublishedÓ, as The Blizzard was said to be. But The Blizzard is foremost among the
pages that came off that copier because of its association with The South
Polar Times,
and
because it was, in a sense, the forerunner of the Þrst book produced in the
Antarctic, Aurora Australis, again with Shackleton as editor, seven years
later. Thus The Blizzard is of tangible interest, even if it is constituted by
nothing more than the dregs of the Þrst issue of The South Polar Times.