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The sublime yet awful grandeur: the Arctic panoramas of Elisha Kent Kane

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Russell A. Potter  and
Douglas W. Wamsley
Russell A. Potter
Affiliation:
English Department, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI02908, USA
Douglas W. Wamsley
Affiliation:
119 Monte Vista Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, USA
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Abstract

In mid-nineteenth century America, the Arctic adventures of Elisha Kent Kane were a common and central subject for the emerging mass media. Kane's exploits were retold through illustrated newspapers, magazines, and books, but his narratives found one of their widest audiences through the medium of the ‘panorama.’ Initially presented in fixed locations, these panoramas later traveled across the country, combining large moving canvasses with a variety of visual and theatrical effects. Kane's two Arctic expeditions were among the most popular subjects represented by panoramas in the period before the American Civil War. This article examines the history of the panorama as it reflected and shaped public interest in the Arctic regions, including earlier polar expeditions, and gives a detailed account of the Kane panoramas. Other optical media that represented Kane's exploits are also considered. Because of its broad audience and widespread appeal, the panorama, along with other emergent visual technologies, played a vital yet overlooked part, both in disseminating Kane's accomplishments and in elevating Kane to prominence and fame in the mid-nineteenth century.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 35 , Issue 194 , July 1999 , pp. 193 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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