This drawing of the Glacier des Evettes, sketched circa 1909-1910 by Emmanuel de Martonne in one of his 27 field notebooks, shows the interest of the French geographer for glaciers and his research on their erosive action. The drawing and notes are related to the photographic glass plate taken by Emmanuel de Martonne on the spot.
These bronze reliefs are a copy of the reliefs on the memorial for Jan Pieter Minckelers (1748-1824), erected in Maastricht in 1904 by sculptor Bart van Hove (1850-1914). Minckelers was a lecturer at the University of Leuven and in 1783, he succeeded in producing the very first lighting gas. The reliefs show how Minckelers, supported by the Duke of Arenberg, released the very first gas balloon in the Low Countries on the lawn in front of Arenberg Castle on 20 November 1783, and how already in the following year his own laboratory was illuminated with the technology. The artist donated the reliefs to the university at the inauguration of the statue in Maastricht.
This is one of the photographs under glass plate of the collection "Emmanuel de Martonne " which contains about 11,000 pictures. It shows the interest of geographer E. de Martonne for glaciers and his questioning on their erosive action.The handwritten legend on the original document reads: "Alps: Valleys, internal alpine massifs: Maurienne: Glacier des Evettes (Hte-Maurienne) seen from the refuge, middle glacial drift - terminal basin with small lakes" .
