Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (1861-1930) was a Norwegian explorer, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922. In 1892, he announced a daring plan to be first to the North Pole. Nansen's radical idea was considered so off-the-wall that no scientist would volunteer to join him on a venture they believed was nothing short of suicide. He allowed his ship to become stuck in the crushing pack ice, hoping it would drift to the Pole, and then set off on foot across the frozen wastes. Nansen became the forefather of polar exploration, inventing practical techniques that today allow people to survive, travel and work in the most hostile and forbidding places on our plane S.A. Andree's (1854-97) was a Swedish explorer. He was the first Swedish balloonist and proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada to pass straight over the North Pole on the way.Two balloon crashed after only two days. Unhurt the explorers began the trek back south, but ended up on the deserted White Island in Svalbard where they died and were not discovered for more than 30 years.This truly unique piece represents an important Polar Expedition piece of memorabilia. Size Overall Dimensions10" H25.4cm H

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