Two maps on one sheet detailing explorations and the reconnaissance flight funded by and to accompany the paper by Mr. Lars Christensen (1884-1965) during an expedition 1936-37.


The upper map, a sketch of the coastline in Australian territory, from Enderby Land to Princess Elizabeth Land and "Ingrid Christensen Land" - named after Lars' wife and the first female to take a flight in Antarctica. The lower map charts the entire coastline from British Territory, Coats Land in the Weddell Sea into Australian Territory and the Shackleton Ice Shelf.




Both maps are peppered with discoveries and exploration routes. Marked in red, the achievements made by the Norwegians, including that of Christensen's expeditions. Marked in black those made under the expeditions of Sir Douglas Mawson and marked in green a combination of European polar expeditions including Biscoe (1831), Wilkes (1840), Drygalski (1901-03) and William Speirs Bruce (1904).




Lars Christensen (1884-1965) was a Norweigan philanthropist, a prominent figure in whaling and an influential businessman. He had a keen interest in new discoveries in Antarctica, regularly funding and participating in the expeditions. In 1936-37, he organised and financed a reconnaissance flight in Antarctica using seaplanes to conduct an aerial survey of the coastline. Christensen's expedition is said to have taken 2,200 aerial photographs and covered a vast area of 6,250 miles. It was also one of the earliest uses of planes in the southern continent.



Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-17), the Endurance was initially built for Christensen for the purposes of hunting and tourist cruises in the Arctic. When Christensen's plan did not come to fruition, he sold the ship to Shackleton.


Printed colour. [POLAR160]