British Antarctic "Terra Nova" Expedition, 1910-1913 | Adelie penguin egg, signed by expedition members

British Antarctic "Terra Nova" Expedition, 1910-1913

Adelie penguin egg, signed by expedition members, and presented to Captain Thomas N. Rosser, 1913

Housed in a contemporary fitted wood and glass display cabinet, 258 x 213 x 138mm., labelled "Presented to | T.N. Rosser | Dock Master, Cardiff | By Tho[ma]s Dancy, 1913"

AN EXTREMELY RARE PENGUIN EGG, PRESENTED ON THE RETURN OF SCOTT'S "TERRA NOVA" EXPEDITION TO CAPTAIN THOMAS NEWLAND ROSSER, DOCKMASTER AT CARDIFF'S BUTE DOCKS.

Rosser met Captain Scott on a number of occasions, obtaining signed ephemera from Scott and other expedition members. He hosted a dinner for expedition members to mark the outbound journey, and held a similar dinner for survivors upon their return, apparently paid for at his own expense. In return for his generosity, Rosser was presented with this Penguin egg. The mahogany box in which it is housed "is believed to have been made from spare strips of wood aboard the ship during the return journey" (200 Years of Polar Exploration, p. 135).

A close inspection of the egg itself reveals an attractive inscription: "BAE" (for British Antarctic Expedition), "SY Terra Nova" (Sailing Yacht Terra Nova), followed by at least four identified signatures, namely "A. Cheetham" (Alfred Cheetham), "P. Keohane" (for Patrick Keohane), "Thomas S. Williamson" (Thomas Soulsby Williamson), and "P Rennick" (Henry Edward de Parny Rennick). These signatures are from men in both the shore and ship parties.

Whilst this egg became an attractive gift, it also serves as a reminder of the "scientific contributions of the expedition [...] long overshadowed by the deaths of Scott and his party", since the Terra Nova returned with over 2,100 specimens of plants, animals, and fossils, of which more than 400 were new to science (Ibid., p. 132).