To Ends of the Earth

TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH – Royal Geographical Society. By Robin Butlin and Jonathan Bastable (editors). Pp. 240, many colour and b/w photos, 2005. (Bloomsbury, London, GBP 35).

On the web site, the Royal Geographical Society invites all to contribute photographic material to its archives. About its own collection, it subtly mentions that ‘remember we were born almost at the same as photography was invented’! In this book, to celebrate 175 years of the Royal Geographical Society the statement is amply proven with a stunning and valuable collection of photographs.

The book takes us through the progressive development of exploration of the world, aptly called as the ‘Golden Age of Exploration’. From the jungles of Africa comes the stories of heroic struggles by Dr Livingstone, from the Poles, Captain Scott, Himalaya, Sir Francis Younghusband and Sir Edmund Hillary and so on. No corner of the world is left uncovered. From Machu Pichhu to the Great Wall of China all areas are covered.

For the readers of the Himalayan Journal, the explorations of F. Kingdon-Ward would be of special interest. Some of his rare and beautiful pictures have never been published before. The travels of Pandit Nain Singh, the first Indian to be honoured with ‘Patron’s Medal’, are given a special place. So is the first ascent of Everest, people of Nepal and rare pictures of lakes and glaciers of Himachal Pradesh amongst others.

The book begins with an article by Dr Rita Gardner, Director, RGS about the modern outlook and current facilities available at the RGS headquarters in London. The RGS with the Institute of British Geographers was founded in 1830 and is one of the largest and most active societies in the field today. It holds in its archives enough material to keep researchers busy for a life time. And the best part is that now all this vast material is open to the public. This book is a collector’s item and an apt tribute to this great institution.

HARISH KAPADIA