Lizzie Le Blond: Elizabeth Burnaby Main Le Blond

03/29/2025

This is the first time we've really been able to mention Lizzie's remarkable collection in Chanute in a short promo film. It's just a passing reference here as the focus is clearly on Osa. Now that it's finished, though, one that better features our favorite female mountain climbing phenom is one notch higher on our priority promo film list. Osa is Queen of the Jungle, but to us, Lizzie is Queen of the Mountain!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18ovE4wPUd/

11/22/2022

Our Lizzie could relate to this photo!

Members of the Edinburgh Ladies’ Climbing Club, circa 1908.

This photo shows Lucy Smith and Pauline Ranken climbing on Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh. Smith was one of the founder members of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club; the other two founders were Jane Inglis Clarke (1859-1950) and her daughter Mabel. They formed the club in 1908 because as women, they were barred from joining the men-only Scottish Mountaineering Club.

The club members were serious climbers. In addition to climbing in Scotland, they also ascended peaks in the Alps. By the end of 1908 the club had fourteen members. To qualify, women had to ascend four peaks of at least 3,000 feet with two snow climbs and two rock climbs.

For propriety’s sake, they climbed wearing long dresses. However, when no one was around to observe them they discarded the skirts and climbed in knickerbockers: knee length trousers that they hid under their dresses.
Their only protection was a length of rope that was tied around each of their waists. There were no harnesses, crampons or other modern safety equipment available to them at that time.

The women climbers were viewed with suspicion and sometimes with outright hostility. They were out without male chaperones, they and their pastime was considered by men and women to be very unladylike.

And once women did ascend a peak, some men felt it an affront to their masculinity to climb the same one. One male climber, Etienne Bruhl, writing about a mountain in France stated that “Of course there are still some rocks standing there, but as a climb it no longer exists. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb.”

They faced incredible prejudice, so why did they do it? Jane Inglis Clark, who wrote in 1938, explained that “the troubles of life seem to fade away in the presence of the everlasting hills. We may go out tired and worn in mind and body; we return renewed and restored: health re-established and friendships strengthened.”

Facebook: Historical Photos of Women's Stories

02/03/2021

Both museum phone lines are not working today...so until we fix that, or someone clones Passenger Pigeons back into an extant species, please msg this page or email [email protected]! As always we're rooting for the extinct species reboot...

10/15/2020

We think Karla should write a comic book about Lizzie...but we're biased! The money from this Adventure Auction will help support the care of all our collections---including Lizzie's---so be sure to head over to Africa.GiveSmart.com to see all the auctions. We're still adding things & we hope to have at least one Lizzie item on there before the Oct 24th deadline!

09/18/2020

Now if we could only get someone to donate a ride in a Hot Air Balloon just like Lizzie's 1st hubby Col Fred Burnaby used to cross the channel, our auction could really have lift this year! :-)

But don't worry, there are going to be a couple Lizzie related items in the auction...this fundraiser is the main one of our calendar year & the revenue from it helps us maintain all our cool collections like Lizzie's!

We’ve been “spotty” with our Gala Updates & the trend continues…Prepare for Take-Off as we reveal the 1st fabulous Adventure Auction Offering:
A Flight for TWO aboard the The Spirit of Igor

Background: The Spirit of Igor is the only airworthy model of her type and the oldest flying Sikorsky in the world today. It was painstakingly restored by Dick Jackson of Rochester, NH. The project began in the 1960s, with the hull of NC-50V being discovered in the Alaskan bush. 40,000 hours and nearly four decades later, the S-39 flew again. Dick Jackson had worked with our museum for years during this challenging effort to insure every detail to be as historically accurate as possible.

The Spirit of Igor was named for the Spirit of Africa, an S-39 owned by Martin and Osa Johnson, and for Igor Sikorsky himself. The giraffe spotting on the fuselage is authentic to a specific species. It was projected onto the hull in order for the painting to be completed.

This item has been donated by Kermit Weeks, an American aviation enthusiast, pilot, and aircraft collector. Kermit maintains one of the largest private collections of flight-worthy historic aircraft in the world, most of which are at his Fantasy of Flight facility in Polk City, Florida. The collection contains over 140 civilian and military planes including rare originals as well as reproductions of historic aircraft, such as the Spirit of St. Louis, the Osa’s Ark II (a virtual clone of Martin Johnson’s zebra spotted S38) and of course, the Spirit of Igor that he has so generously offered to our auction listings in support of our museum. Since acquiring both Osa’s Ark II and Spirit of Igor, Kermit has become a dedicated ambassador of our museum as well. If you know him or ever meet him, please thank Kermit for his work with us and support his own amazing museum in Florida!

This flight and tour package will be auctioned during our Saturday October 24th gala & full details on it are coming soon. To learn more about the plane or the Fantasy of Flight museum now:
http://www.spiritofigor.com/
https://www.fantasyofflight.com/collection/

07/09/2020

We're thrilled our archival copy of Sasha Abramsky's new book Little Wonder has arrived! Sasha licensed a selection of Lizzie's collection photos related to the amazing Miss Lottie Dod & he & his publisher Akashic Books were wonderful to work with. Get your own copy of the book here...you won't regret it! http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/little-wonder-the-fabulous-story-of-lottie-dod-the-worlds-first-female-sports-superstar/

04/26/2020

Wouldn't it be great if someone did a film on Lizzie?
Hint. Hint.

Here is the trailer to the upcoming film "Adventure - The Story of Osa Johnson." Adventure - The Story of Osa Johnson is an upcoming documentary film about t...

03/17/2020

This is a poor way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but we think Lizzie, as our resident Irish ice climbing phenom, understood the need for healthy self-isolation.

The Martin + Osa Johnson Safari Museum will temporarily close to the public starting March 15 following the national guidelines to combat the global health emergency due to Covid 19.

The museum staff will be working on online research projects until further notice.

Individuals may contact museum staff to discuss available online research opportunities. We will be updating our website site and our FB pages as increased services and museum access is permitted.

As staff will be working on and off site, the best avenue for contact is to email us at [email protected].

We apologize for any inconvenience.

https://safarimuseum.com/museum-temporarily-closed-notice-updates/

08/18/2019

While researching books about the cameras Lizzie employed, we've found a number of old photography ads that look like they were based on Lizzie's own adventures...but of course her boating holidays more often involved Ice Sailing!