Lot 40020 - MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION, 1924 — RONGBUK GLACIER BASE

MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION, 1924 — RONGBUK GLACIER BASE CAMP — EXPEDITION LABEL & EXHIBITION POSTCARD. 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition picture postcard, depicting Mount Everest from the Base Camp in the Rongbuk Valley, Tibet, and specifically prepared in connection with the expedition and its subsequent public exhibition. signed and sent by John B. L. Noel who was the photographer, movie camera operator during the 1924 expedition. The address side bears the distinctive blue “MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION / TIBET / 1924” pictorial expedition label, showing Everest and incorporating Buddhist swastika symbols in the four corners, tied by the large violet-red “MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION / RONGBUK GLACIER / BASE CAMP / 1924” cachet. Alongside is a British India King George V 1½ annas adhesive, cancelled in October 1924, with an additional “EXHIBITION 1924” machine marking. Addressed to Amsterdam, Holland. The picture side is headed “MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION, 1924. Leader — Gen. Hon. C. G. Bruce, C.B.”, above the celebrated view captioned “Mt. Everest from the Base Camp in the Rongbuk Valley, TIBET.” The card links the 1924 Everest expedition itself with the contemporary public exhibition and cinematic documentation of the attempt. The expedition, led initially by Brigadier-General Charles G. Bruce, became one of the defining episodes in the history of Himalayan exploration and is particularly remembered for the disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine during their summit attempt on 8 June 1924. An especially evocative piece of Everest expedition and Himalayan postal history, combining the official-style expedition pictorial label, Rongbuk Glacier Base Camp cachet, British Indian postage, expedition photograph and contemporary promotional reference to the celebrated 1924 Everest film. Fine.