Captain Scott's British Antarctic Expedition Images to Go Under the Hammer

Three photographs taken by polar photography pioneer Herbert George Ponting, of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole (1910-1913), are to be sold at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on 17 May.

Having accompanied the Terra Nova crew for almost 14 months, Ponting took over 1,000 photographs that chronicled every aspect of the journey in astonishing detail, including shots of the crew's day-to-day life.

The three shots in the sale include Captain Scott writing in his diary on 7 October, 1911, which is estimated to fetch from £2,000-£3,000. There is also Grotto in an iceberg with the Terra Nova in the background on 5 January, 1911, estimated to be sold for £3,000-£5,000 and a view of the Terra Nova at the ice foot, Cape Evans, on 16 January 1911, with a guide price of £3,000-£5,000.

According to Bonhams website, Ponting left Cape Evans towards the end of 1911, missing out on the push for the South Pole. On 17 January, 1912, Scott and his remaining four men reached the Pole, only to perish on their return journey from malnutrition and freezing temperatures.

Ponting was so inspired by the crew's heroism that he devoted the rest of his life to touring the British Isles with his photographs and footage of the expedition.

Earlier this year, Bonhams sold for £163,250 the first of the farewell letters written by Captain Scott as he realised that he and his team would not survive.