Postcards capturing 1922 British Everest expedition go for auction
A fascinating set of six English postcards depicting original views of the British Mount Everest expedition in 1922 will be going under the hammer at a Shropshire fine art auction house today.
The set, discovered amongst an assortment of old postcards from a South Shropshire vendor, have been entered in Halls’ toys and interiors auction at the Battlefield salerooms in Shrewsbury on Wednesday and are valued at up to £120.
The 1922 expedition was the first with the express aim of reaching the summit of Everest and also the first using bottled oxygen. Attempting to climb Everest from the northern side out of Tibet, as Nepal was closed to Westerners at the time, the expedition was led by Brigadier Charles Bruce and one of the members was teacher George Mallory.
Mallory, who had taken part in the 1921 expedition, discovered a route which he thought would help the climbers to reach the summit. After two failed summit attempts the expedition ended on the third when seven porters died in an avalanche to become the first reported climbing deaths on Mount Everest.
However, the expedition established a new world record climbing height of 27,000 feet during their second summit attempt, which was subsequently exceeded in a 1924 expedition.
Mallory, who took part in the first three British expeditions in 1920s, disappeared with climbing partner Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine on the North East ridge, 249 metres from the summit of Everest, in 1924. His body was discovered on May 1, 1999 and it’s unknown whether or not he had reached the summit.
Auctioneer Aaron Dean said postcards relating to British Mount Everest expedition always attract a lot of interest from collectors and he expects them to sell well at the auction.
