Never-before-seen images showing Captain Scott's doomed expedition team setting off on their ill-fated trek to the South Pole have come to light - revealing the harsh conditions the men faced. The archive of 52 celluloid negatives were taken at the expedition base camp of Cape Evans on Ross Island, and show Scott's party preparing to head off during the doomed Terra Nova Expedition of 1912. In some pictures, the herd of ponies the team used to haul the equipment-laden sledges on the 800 mile trek can be seen. The images, now thought to be worth £50,000, also show the team of husky dogs used for part of the journey that would end with the deaths of Scott and the polar party of Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Edgar Evans and Henry Bowers. The animals were to be Scott's downfall as he abandoned the use of the dogs on the final leg of the trek, wrongly believing they would not make the ascent of Beardmore Glacier. Scroll down for video . Captain Scott's team depart pulling a sled in poignant unseen photographs taken by Lt Henry Bowers of Scott's ill-fated 1912 Antarctic expedition. The images also show the beginning of the expedition that would end with the deaths of Scott and the polar party of Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Edgar Evans and Henry Bowers . Bowers perished with Scott on their return from the South Pole, but these photographs taken by him were returned to Britain with expedition photographer Herbert Ponting. This picture shows the constant gales that blew across the exposed ice shelf . Scott's team preparing to depart beside a flimsy tent. The archive of 52 celluloid negatives, worth £50,000, were taken at the expedition base camp of Cape Evans on Ross Island . 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 . Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen beat Scott to the pole by 34 days, largely because his team used dogs instead of 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. 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 dog   team with their dogs and ponies on the Ross Ice Shelf preparing for their doomed departure for the Pole. The animals were to be Scott's downfall as he abandoned the dogs on the final leg of the trek, wrongly believing they would not make the ascent of Beardmore Glacier . The dog teams at rest as the men contemplate their journey. 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. The Terra Nova Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was led by Robert Falcon Scott with the objective of being the first to reach the geographical South Pole. Scott and his four companions reached the pole on 17 January 1912, where they found that a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had preceded them by 33 days. Scott's entire party died on the return journey from the pole. Some of their bodies, journals and photographs were discovered by a search party eight months later. For many years after his death, Scott's status as tragic hero was unchallenged, and few questions were asked about the causes of the disaster which overcame his polar party. The degree of Scott's personal culpability remains a matter of controversy among commentator, but it is thought that exhaustion, extreme cold and starvation definitely led to the men's demise. 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. They have been in the family of the collector ever since and are now being sold by Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wilts, for a pre-sale estimate of between £30,000 and £50,000. Andrew Aldridge said: 'The negatives offer an incredible snapshot into one of the most famous British Antartic 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. 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. The negatives are being sold in Devizes on April 18. The expedition ponies sheltering behind a ice berm built by Scott's men to protect them from the wind. 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 . Bowers perished with Scott on their return from the South Pole, but these photographs taken by him were returned to Britain with expedition photographer Herbert Ponting . Pony sleds on the vast featureless Ross Ice Shelf. These negatives were retained by Ponting and were sold by his family to a private collector after his death in 1935. They have been in the family of the collector ever since and are now being sold by Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wilts, for a pre-sale estimate of between £30,000 and £50,000 . There are also general shots of the harsh landscape and ice shelves that only a handful of men had visited until that point . The men's sleds, skis and flimsy tents stick starkly out against the ice and snow. 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. Their bodies were found eight months later by a rescue party .
Negatives, worth £50,000, show great British adventurer and his men heading off in the snow-covered wilderness . Trek ended with deaths of Scott and the party of Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Edgar Evans and Henry Bowers . 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 .