A signed photograph of a portrait in oils of Admiral Edward Evans in full dress uniform
A gelatin silver photograph (180 × 128 mm), mounted as issued (laid down on thin brown card which is attached to thicker, light brown card), glazed and in a contemporary thin wooden frame (overall dimensions 385 × 255 mm). The painting is signed and dated in the image ('Bowring 1927' - possibly the NZ artist Walter Armiger Bowring, 1874-1931). Evans has inscribed the mount below the photograph in ink 'To Jean and Lavington Bonython with love from E.R.G.R. Evans 1929-31'.
The frame is a little scratched; the backing paper is a little waterstained and slightly torn with minor loss; the mount has a tiny light tidemark along the bottom edge, well clear of the photograph and inscription, which are in excellent condition.
Evans was second officer of the 'Morning', the ship sent out by the Royal Geographical Society in 1904 to the relief of Scott's first Antarctic expedition. In 1909 he was selected by Scott himself as second-in-command of his second expedition and captain of the 'Terra Nova'. He accompanied Scott in January 1912 to within 150 miles of the Pole where he turned back. Struck down with scurvy (which almost claimed his life), he spent a brief period of convalescence in England before resuming his captaincy. He arrived at Cape Evans in January 1913, only to learn that Scott had died the previous March on his return from the Pole. His enduring fame as 'Evans of the "Broke"' relates to his exploits in action off Dover Harbour in April 1917, but that's another story. He was eventually promoted to Rear-Admiral in February 1928, and his first flag command was the Australian squadron in 1929. 'He was immensely popular in the Commonwealth, where his unconventional ways were fully appreciated.' [Sir] John Lavington Bonython (1875-1960), newspaper editor and company director, was Lord Mayor of Adelaide from 1928-30. 'Much of Bonython's energy was devoted to civic affairs'; this memento probably stems from one of these civic occasions, although the warm inscription suggests a more personal association. The item is offered together with an unsigned framed and glazed photograph of Evans standing with another (unidentified) high-ranking naval officer in a garden-party setting (visible image size 103 × 127 mm). Both items carry the label of the Adelaide framers Bayly & Speirs. Most of these details have been gleaned from the 'Dictionary of National Biography' and the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography'. [2 items].
Item #76752
Price (AUD):
$650.00