"Рисунок наглядно представит мне то, что в книге изложено на целых десяти страницах"
Иван Тургенев,"Отцы и дети"

January 3, 2026

Ships of Discovery Pictured by John S. Smith

‘An Awful Place’. This was Captain Scott’s comment on the South Pole, where he had suffered a bitter blow in the very moment of his triumph. But the worst was yet to come.
The Arctic whaler, Terra Nova, which Robert Falcon Scott used on his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole.

weekly educational magazine for children
Look and Learn No. of issues 753-761


Pioneer of the Pacific. Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery changed our maps and opened new sea for the nations of the world. But it is the Pacific, where he his tragic end, which is forever associated with his name.
Formerly a humble Whitby collier, the Endeavour found herself in the most unlikely waters, thousands of miles from her home.
Conquerors of the Arctic. They were all small ships, but between them they were to sow the seeds of great Arctic expeditions to come.
During their voyage of discovery, Ross and Parry’s whalers were trapped in the ice.
The Case of the Vanishing Ships. Franklin’s two ships were spotted by a whaler as they sailed through Baffin Bay. After that neither the ships nor a single member of the crew was ever seen again.
In addition to the heavy gales, Franklin’s ships were constantly menaced by the floating ice.
The Voyage of the Vega. Slowly, the Vega crept on her way through the arctic waters, with the ice remorselessly closing around her. Finally, the ice brought her to a comlete halt. Now the Vega was trapped, seemingly with no hope of rescue.
The Vega, and the steam launch which accompanied her, celebrate their exit from the North East Passage into the Pacific, by firing a salute.
Voyage in the Ice. Could a ship, locked in the Arctic ice, drift all the way to the North Pole? Nansen believed it was possible, and put his theory to the test.
The Fram arrived in the Bay of Whales in Antarctica to set up a base for Roald Amundsen’s attempt to beat Robert Scott in the race to the South Pole.
First to the North Pole. For nearly three centuries men had risked their lives, trying in vain to reach the North Pole. Now another explorer was to make the attempt in a rather special sort of ship.
Where other vessels had come to a grinding halt when faced with a barrier of ice, The Roosevelt merely smashed her way through it.
The Lure of the Arctic. The Arctic had proved itself to be a grim and terrifying place. But still it lured men into risking their lives there – including a Prince of Royal Italian blood.
The Stella Polare setting out on her voyage of discovery.
The Doctor Goes to Sea. Jean Charcot had a flourishing medical practice in a fashionable part of Paris. Why then, did he choose to give it all up to risk his life, year after year, in search of adventure in a ship which was to become as famous as himself?
After twenty-eight years of out-standing service, the Pourquoi Pas? was dashed to pieces on the rock in the Bay of Reykjavik.


John Stephen Smith – was a British marine painter, poster artist and illustrator. Christopher Deakes in his book reports that John S. Smith was trained as a graphic artist, and served throughout WW2 in the Royal Navy. After that the artist worked as a poster artist, easel painter, and designed periodicals and books. In the 1970-80s, John S. Smith illustrated the weekly for young people “Look and Learn” where the artist’s potential as an illustrator-storyteller was revealed with unprecedented force.
The pictures was contributed by Ausdew’s Flickr
Дополнительно: Иллюстрации Джона Смита в журнале "Лук энд лёрн": Мир скорости и силы (The World of Speed and Power); Морские труженики (At Work On The Waves); The Challenge of the Blue Riband (Голубая лента Атлантики); Гиганты прошлого (Yesterday's Giants); Королевские корабли (The Royal Ships); Джон С. Смит (John S. Smith); Великие пароходы (The Great Steamers)
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