article: Haunting never-before-seen images showing Captain Scott's doomed expedition team setting off on their ill-fated trek to the South Pole have sold for a staggering £30,000. The archive of 52 celluloid negatives show the great British adventurer and his men heading off in the snow-covered wilderness during the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition of 1912. Some of the pictures show the herd of ponies the team used to haul the equipment-laden sledges on the 800 mile trek that would end with the deaths of Scott and the polar party of Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Edger Evans and Henry Bowers. Scroll down for video . Almost ready: The pictures show Captain Scott's team preparing to depart on their ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition of 1912. The photographs were taken at the expedition base camp of Cape Evans on Ross Island . Setting off: Scott's team pulling a sled as they depart from base camp. The unseen photographs of the Antarctic expedition have been sold at auction for £36,000 to an unnamed buyer . The images also show the team of husky dogs used for part of the expedition. The two types of animal proved to be Scott's downfall as he got rid of the dogs on the final leg of the trek, wrongly believing they would not make the ascent of Beardmore Glacier. In the event, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen beat Scott to the pole by 34 days, largely because his team used dogs to haul their gear the entire way rather than use slower ponies. Two of the men featured in the archive were dog handlers Cecil Meares and Dimitri Gerof. Other pictures in the archive show the flimsy-looking pyramid tents that sheltered the men from the bone-chilling temperatures of -70F as well as them trekking in the snow. There are also general shots of the harsh landscape and ice shelves that only a handful of men had visited until that point. Limited shelter: The archive illustrates the flimsy-looking pyramid tents that sheltered the men from the bone-chilling temperatures of -70F . Treacherous conditions: The expedition team had to deal with constant gales which blew across the exposed ice shelf. The photographs were taken by one of the team, Henry Bowers . Bowers' pictures were taken under the direction of the official photographer Herbert Ponting. The pictures were part of the huge 1,700 image archive gathered by Ponting, who trained Bowers in the art of photography . The photographs were taken by Bowers under the direction of the official photographer Herbert Ponting at the expedition base camp of Cape Evans on Ross Island. The pictures were part of the huge 1,700 image archive gathered by Ponting, who trained Bowers in the art of photography so he could take pictures during the ground-breaking trek to the pole. Ponting brought the negatives back to England with him in preparation for Scott to use for lecture and fundraising tours around the world upon his return. Most of the images are owned by the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University. These negatives were retained by Ponting and were sold by his family to a private collector after his death in 1935. Some of the pictures show the herd of ponies the team used to haul the equipment-laden sledges on the 800 mile trek that would end with the deaths of Scott and his polar party . Another captures the team of husky dogs. The two types of animal proved to be Scott's downfall as he got rid of the dogs on the final leg of the trek, wrongly believing they wouldn't make the ascent of Beardmore Glacier . Official photographer Herbert Ponting brought the negatives back to England with him in preparation for Scott to use for lecture and fundraising tours around the world upon his return . They had been in the family of the collector ever since and were sold by Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wiltshire, to an unnamed buyer. Andrew Aldridge, from the auctioneers, said: 'The negatives offer an incredible snapshot into one of the most famous British Antarctic expeditions of the 20th century. 'They show the brutal nature of the environment these brave men went on to endure. 'The clarity of the images is truly remarkable and includes previously unseen elements including the polar party marching, pitching tents and them having lunch. 'The vast majority of Ponting's pictures are in the Scott Polar Research Unit. As far as we can tell most of these negatives haven't been published before.' Scott's Terra Nova expedition arrived at Cape Evans on Ross Island in January 1911. After seeing out the austral winter Scott's polar party of 16 men set off in the November 1911 to be the first people to reach the South Pole. Scott and his men made it to the South Pole on January 17, 1912 only to find Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had beaten them. All five men perished on their return journey after enduring dreadful conditions . Most of the images are owned by the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University. They include general shots of the harsh landscape and ice shelves that only a handful of men had visited until that point . Sold at auction: The negatives were retained by Ponting and were sold by his family to a private collector after his death in 1935. They have now been sold by an auctioneers to an unnamed buyer . The supporting party of 11 men returned as planned at various stages during the 800 mile trek, leaving Scott, Wilson, Oates, Evans and Bowers to reach the pole. The men made it to the South Pole on January 17, 1912 only to find Amundsen had beaten them to it. On their return journey, the five men endured dreadful conditions and suffered from a lack of food and frostbite. Evans died on February 17, 1912 and a flagging Oates famously died on March 16 after walking out of the tent into a blizzard to give the remaining three a chance of survival. Scott, Wilson and Bowers died in the tent on or about March 29. Their bodies were found eight months later by a rescue party.
highlights: The photos were taken at the expedition base camp on Ross Island in 1911 .
  They show the British explorer and his men setting off for the South Pole .
  Scott and four others died on the return journey after being beaten to it .
  The 52 negatives were sold for £36,000 at auction to an unnamed buyer .
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