The Belgica & Beyond


amateur translations, scans, & assorted research by m.w.
actively under construction.

WRITTEN FROM THE BELGICA 1897-1899

  1. Racovitza’s cartoons 
  2. Racovitza’s shipboard diary
  3. Racovitza’s letters home
  4. Lecointe’s meeting notes

CORRESPONDENCE

  1. before
  2. after

    NEWS OF THE BELGICA 1896-1900

    1. coverage in the Belgian press, translated
    2. coverage in the British press
    3. coverage in the American press
    4. scientific lectures, translated
    5. list of Expedition publications
      6.        a) Lecointe on Danco’s contributions

    QUELQUES EXPÉDITIONS SUIVANTES

    1. de Gerlache & Charcot (the Français)
    2. de Gerlache & the Duke of Orléans (the Belgica in the Arctic)
    3. the failed Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Arctowski & Lecointe)
    4. the successful Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Gaston de Gerlache)
    5.  the Royal Belgian Observatory
    6. Georges Lecointe’s 20th Century

      MARRIAGES & OTHER LIFE EVENTS

      1. Lecointe Family
      2. Arctowski
      3. de Gerlache
      4. Racovitza
      5. van Mirlo
      6. van Rysselberghe

      ASSORTED BELGICA RESOURCES

      1. bibliography
      2. associated persons
      3. contemporary photographs


      the sailors of the Belgica performing a “starlight concert” on Sept. 26, 1897, from Johan Koren’s diary

      contact: packloafertranslations@gmail.com

      Pre-Belgica Correspondence



      Selected correspondence from Emile Racovitza to Adrien de Gerlache, 1896-1897, as selected and transcribed by Alexandru Marinescu and translated by m.w.


      18 July 1896

      Monsieur,

          Thanks to the exception which you so kindly worked to have me granted, the War Minister is going to give me an unlimited leave starting on the 15th of August. So I may now take part in your expedition in the best conditions as I have ample time to make all the necessary preparations. 

          On the 15th of August, I’ll leave for Paris, stay two days and then make my way to Brussels to put myself at your disposal.

          I could go to Kiel for the Hansen nets, to Monaco where I could see the details of the construction of the Prince of Monaco’s yacht, and to Naples where a stay of one month could allow me to be initiated in the techniques used for the conservation of marine animals, such as the practices of Mr. Lo Bianco, the well-known specialist. We can discuss this subject further in Brussels.

          Regarding dragnets, it shouldn’t be a grand affair as I’ve already had some experience, to a point, with their usage; in fact, I performed numerous dredgings (just at 600 m) in Banyuls s/M. I could, in any case, see how it is done in Naples. 

          I write at the same time to Monsieur Van Beneden and to Mr. Pelseneer.

          I’ll let you know of my arrival in Brussels.

      Rest assured, Monsieur, that you have my deepest respect,
                      Emile G. Racovitza

      25 Strada Pacurari
      Jassy (Romania)


      13 September 1896

      Monsieur,

          Thanks to your exception I am relieved from military service and I can finally leave Romania. I’ve already seen Mr. Pelseneer in Wimereux, and we had a long discussion about the question of the installation of Zoological services on board the Belgica. Mr. Pelseneer has probably written to you already regarding his side of the discussion.

          It was agreed that in the month of October, when you will be in Brussels, and you’ve reunited all of your collaborators, that I should present a plan, or better yet a sketch to serve as the basis of discussion. The way the interior of the laboratory will be arranged is of the utmost importance, and this question merits careful study. So please send me the plan and the description of the location that you intend to assign to Zoology.

          I will also actively occupy myself with the question of the apparatuses for dredging, deep-sea, and pelagic surface fishing, for the conservation of our captures (I think I’ve already found a way to avoid purchasing large glass containers), and the macroscopic photography of living animals. 

          Unfortunately, all the libraries are closed in September and it will be difficult for me to arrive at a definitive result. But we have all the time to figure out the internal layout of the laboratory and the purchase of necessary supplies. 

          I would ask, sir, that you please write to me at 140 B-vard St. Germain indicating when it will be necessary to bring myself to Brussels.

          Are you planning to return to Norway in October? If yes, I could potentially accompany you to see the possible installation and layout of the Zoological services for myself.

      To you, Monsieur, the assurance of my deep respect,
                      E. Racovitza

      Paris, 10 November 1896

      Dear sir,

          Here is the information that I can give you regarding the different errands you gave me in Paris: 

          — Chabot says he’s very advanced in the construction of all the requested apparatuses. Starting in January you can request, if you so wish, the delivery of these instruments. He only asks that you warn him 15 days in advance.
          The thermometers are finished, only needing to be graduated; he awaits Arctowski’s instructions on this subject. He asks that Arctowski give him the advertised information on water bottles as soon as possible.
          I think you would do well to fix the 1st of February as the delivery date for him and to send him instructions to this effect. I am certain that he’ll be exact, because he’s already given me completely finished instruments.

          — The Prince of Monaco is not in Paris, but he’s coming here at the end of the month; Richard advised me to personally contact the Prince for the Giesbrecht net. He believes we won’t have any difficulties with this subject.
          The sample of cable for soundings is requested; I will ship it to you as soon as I have it. It was ordered from Coventry. You will have all of the information at the same time as the sample.

          — The registers for Zoology are requested. 

          I shall gather the other information that we need. 

      My best to you,
                  Dr. Racovitza


      Paris, 19 November 1896


      My dear sir,

          I send you the sample of cable from the Prince of Monaco with a little note from Richard on the relevant information. We will probably have the blueprint of the Giesbrecht net and I’m going to send that to Pelseneer. Soon you will receive the plan for dragnets to be constructed in Copenhagen or Brussels. Also I will soon send you an order for silk cheesecloth for you to sign and send from your address. You can also see the proofs of the Zoological registers soon. 

          As you can see, all the biggest things for the biological service will be arranged before your departure for Norway. All that remains is little things that won’t be pressing for us.

          What sum, approximately, can you set aside for the purchase of books? We’ll need quite a bit. I will spend from my own pockets as much as I can; I’ve already used two thousand notes for this, but that won’t suffice. I’ve also written to a few different people and I’ll begin to take steps to obtain certain things for free. We will absolutely need to buy the Physikalischer Atlas from Berghaus of which I will send you the prospectus. As all the sciences are interested in this question, I think it should be the expedition which pays for that. Every section of this atlas will be of greatest use to us.

          Is there any news on the subject of the distribution of expedition materials? Please do keep me updated, as it’s something that interests me to the highest degree.

          Colonel Desfforges, who must give us a pendulum, is not in Paris but for two years has been in Constantinople. Mr. Lagrange could write to him. I discussed this situation with Laisant, the mathematician, who advised me to introduce myself to Colonel Dassot, a collaborator of Desfforges, or to Callandreau at the Observatory. Would you communicate this to Monsieur Lagrange since Danco is absent and ask for his opinion?

          I forgot to send you the address of the glassmaker recommended by Mr. Erera; it’s Lebaylli-Franquet, Charlerois, place du Midi…

      All yours, E. Racovitza


      Jéna, 11 January 97

      Dear Sir,

          Since yesterday I’ve been in the lovely village of Jéna and tonight I leave for Leipzig. I don’t regret anything about my journey. I was most cordially received by Professor Ernst Haeckel, the pontifex maximus of German Zoology. He seemed very interested in our expedition and completely approved of our arrangements for seeing the pelagic, the plankton, and our tools. 

          I also saw Johanes Walther, one of the best young geologists and oceanographers in Germany when it comes to being well versed in general questions. We had a long discussion on the problems to be solved and I’ve profited greatly from his recommendations. 

          I also stayed at the Zeiss factory for 6 hours. I had everything shown to me and I conversed with 4 of the 12 specialists (all of them doctors of various sciences) who direct the factory. I believe it would be useless to pass on to you the results of our long discourse on all things concerning zoological instruments, but here is what I think will be useful for photography. I’ll only tell you a few quick things as I haven’t received a letter from Taquin yet, but that’s not important.

          1𐩑 I explained our desires to the chief of photography. We discussed, point by point, all of the things we must take into account. These gentlemen were well informed of our affairs, Mr. Taquin can write to them and they will send him their opinions and do their best with any questions.

          2𐩑 The factory makes telephoto lenses and the results seemed marvelous to me. They recommended a telephoto lens to me that has a price of 270 marks and which would be constructed especially for our goals. 
          I do not think that we can pass on this lens that, though very expensive, will perform very great services for us. Our expedition would be the first to be served by this instrument. It is therefore necessary for Mr. Taquin to send them the dimensions of the chamber and length of the bellows.

          3𐩑 Taquin must also ask them for information on the foot of his photographic apparatus, they’ve found the method. 

          4𐩑 The Zeiss factory belongs to the laborers and scientists who work there, it’s a shared-profit company, so it isn’t possible to obtain donations.

          A word, please, to tell me whether you received my letter from Brussels and whether you ordered the tubes. You could well make use of the difference in price for the tubes to buy the telephoto lens.

      Best to you, E. Racovitza

      25 Pacurari St, Jassy, Romania



      5 February 1897, Jassy

      Dear Sir,

          I will leave Romania the 14th of February, I’m counting on stopping in Vienna for a day to see Professor Suess who told Arctowski of his wish to see me, and from there I leave directly for Paris.

          — Following your wishes, I immediately occupied myself with the maps; please indicate to me (140 B-vard St. Germain) what you were planning to take in regards to nautical charts. If I remember correctly, you spoke to me about buying charts from the British Admiralty. In any case, I’ll try to obtain French charts that might be useful to us, and I’ll copy the original unpublished maps of the Antarctic lands. 

          — I will also draw up the complete list of everything the Zoological service might need. Right now, we have all the elements we’ll need to work.

          — The bathypelagic nets will be ready around mid-April. They cost 750 fr (instead of the 3600 it would be from Leblanc).

          — The Bouchet nets are also in hand. They will cost, following the agreed-upon price, 125 fr apiece or 250 francs for the pair.

          — The Smithsonian Institution of New York sent me a reference book on deep-sea and pelagic fish for the expedition library.

          — Danco described the renovations on the Belgica with such enthusiasm that it has strengthened, if that’s possible, my desire to visit for myself… Have you made a plan for the laboratory?

      Best to you, E. Racovitza

      20/II, Paris, 140 B-vard St. Germain

      Dear Sir,

          Upon arriving this morning in Paris, I found the letter from Danco and immediately went off to visit Chabot.

      ●●●●●●●●●●

          On April 21 there will be a Congress of the German Geographical Societies in Jena. The first day of this Congress has been entirely devoted to the South Pole. I believe it is in our best interest to send at least one of us to assist with this Congress as many interesting ideas might arise; also I accepted an invitation from Professor Haeckel to go to this assembly. 

          Please pass my friendliest sentiments along to Danco.

      Best to you, E. Racovitza

      25/II, Paris, 140 B-vard St. Germain

      Dear Sir,

          I received your letter the evening of Saturday the 27th, and I was not able to do any of the errands you tasked me with until yesterday, Monday. I will put in the order for the thermometer and I will pay the bill for the waterproof silk. 

          For the photographic material I need some pieces of information.

          1𐩑 Which apparatuses are the ones the expedition already has?

          2𐩑 Who are you going to charge with photography on board, since Mr. Taquin isn’t accompanying us? And the new doctor?

          If the expedition doesn’t have a single apparatus yet, we’ll have to take urgent measures, as time is tight.

          Your letter only contains news which is meant to give me cause to rejoice.

      Best to you, E. Racovitza

          Would you be kind enough to tell me what you want to bring in terms of nautical charts. I’m going to go see Mr. Guyon next week and will work in his offices. I can thus look at all the French charts relating to the Antarctic, and also the maps that might be useful for navigation. 


      Paris, 140 B-vard St. Germain
      The 13th of May 1897

      Dear Sir,

          Balloon. I went to the Lachambre place. Here’s the information you requested on the balloon offered to Cetti for 2000 fr.

          The hot air balloon is old and second-hand; as it is dated by a few years, it doesn’t have the latest refinements. It’s been established to work in free climbs, it’s not just a captive balloon. It would require adding around 150 fr for the cable and other accessories. It holds 160 m cubed and cannot be guaranteed for less than a 2% loss every 24 hours. It cannot take a person higher than 150 m (like a captive balloon, I hear) and its ascending force is too weak to be used in a wind stronger than 2 m per second. The weights of the balloon and its accessories are abt 80 kg. The generator is 2 m 50 wide, with the accessories it occupies a space of roughly 5-6 square m and weighs 600 kg (I saw it, it’s very bulky). The gas production is around 30m3 per hour and it dispenses 5 kg sulfuric acid and 3 kg of iron filings per 100 m cubed of gas. 

          The price varies according to the prices of the separate products and you’ll have to see what they cost in Belgium.

          Mr. Lachambre is no simple tradesman. He seemed very thoughtful to me and was quite interested in scientific expeditions. You probably know that he made the balloon for Andrée and that his nephew is away to help prepare that departure, like Lachambre himself went to Spitsbergen last year for the same purpose. He advised us against taking Cetti’s materials.

          So I explained the situation to him, I told him that the balloon would be nothing but an accessory for our expedition and that we could do perfectly without it; on the other hand we lack the funds to make large purchases. I asked him if he thought it was necessary to have a hot air balloon made for our expedition. He replied that he would propose the following for us, with whom he had no intention of doing business. He believes it would be useful for us to have the following materials:

          One balloon, the tethered aerostat military type, 100-250 m cubed, new, in weatherproof silk of the highest quality, 100-120 kg heavy, providing for a very light basket and a 350 m cable, that can lift one person of up to 80 kg in winds averaging as strong as 300 m, without losing more than 1-2% every 24 hours.

          A generator weighing 500-600 kg but very reduced in dimensions to produce 30-40m3 of gas per hour, new and specially designed. Balloon and generator not occupying a space of more than 5-6 cubic meters. They take care of delivering the material for us for 3500 fr (to the nearest 100 fr). I asked specifically whether this would all be furnished for this price and he responded that we would not have to buy anything more than the chemical products, iron and sulfuric ac. 

          You now have the information requested. If you want to order the material for 3500 fr telegraph me: Yes. Time is very tight. The constructor needs 2 months for this.

          I received a card from Pelseneer who told me that Lumière will kindly give us 100 boxes of 13/18s. So I’m going to order 50 boxes of 13/18s and 40 9/18s. 

          I think we ought to buy the two lenses spoken of by Monsieur Rahir, but send back the telephoto lens since we already have one in our kit, and for overwintering that lens is useless. Unless you’d like to keep it! I’m going to inform Macklestein that we have this device.


      Best to you, Racovitza

      Paris, the 21st of May

      Dear Sir,

          I told Lachambre of our great regret at not being able to purchase the aerostat on account of the very heavy weights of the primary materials (5 kg acid, 9 kg iron for one meter3 of gas). He then gave us an excellent idea: it’s to import compressed hydrogen through cast iron tubes, such that we can avoid using a generator; these tubes take up a very small space, the inflation happens immediately, faster than a generator, even. There is one but, it seems this is quite expensive. I still asked Mr. Lachambre to inform us of the price (we’d have it made in England) of these tubes, of their dimensions and capacities. I’ll send you the response telegraphically. You decide what should be done.

          Trust that I have been doing all that you command in the most economic way possible, as I could demonstrate for you with the correspondence I’ve had with the fabricators and competent persons. But I also do not lose sight of the fact that we must be equipped with irreproachable tools.

      Best to you, E. Racovitza

          Danco wrote to me saying that Dr. Taquin hasn’t sent anything yet.