On board James Ross’s expedition to the Antarctic in the early 1840s, John Edward Davis meticulously tracked the progress of the journey while noting new coastal and glacial features and routes of other recent expeditions. His hand-drawn lines extend and intersect the map’s printed lines marking past expeditions, as far back as those of James Cook in the 1770s. If you examine the journey lines on the map, you can see Davis often marked each day of a journey in minute detail with points marking days and months. These annotations reveal the accretion of scientific knowledge in harsh conditions.
Tracking Expeditions
| Artist | Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty |
|---|---|
| Title | Chart of the South Polar Sea |
| Year | ca. 1841 |
| Dimensions | 63 cm diameter |
| Medium | Engraving with manuscript notes in pencil and red and blue ink added by John Edward Davis. |
| Location | Newberry Library |