1911. NORGE. Original foto postcard of the ship Polariis during the contruction in Fjeldvig pr Sandefjord. This ship was a barkentine and was launched with the name Polaris in December 1912 from the Norwegian Framnæs Shipyard in Sandefjord at the request of the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache. Unlike Fridtjof Nansen's famous ship Fram, the ship was not flat-bottomed and therefore less suitable for sailing in heavy pakis. When Gerlache abandoned the purchase, the ship was instead acquired by Shackleton, who renamed it Endurance. The name was due to the Shackleton family's motto "Fortitudine vincimus" ('By endurance we conquer'). It sailed from England to Antarctica in August 1914 and arrived a few months later at the Weddell Sea, where it was stuck in the pack ice for several months and finally, in November 1915, was screwed down. The crew of 28 men escaped under dramatic conditions in the ship's lifeboats to Elephant Island (island in the group South Shetland Islands), where they overwintered. They were rescued from here in good condition in August 1916. A historical photo post card cancelled KRISTIANIA 29.VIII 11.
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