Expéditions

Expéditions — marelibri

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE RECENT ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS IN SEARCH OF SIR J. FRANKLIN AND THE CREWS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS "EREBUS" AND "TERROR;" INCLUDING THE REPORTS OF DR. KANE AND MESSRS. ANDERSON AND STEWART.

1856Best.-Nr. 69186London. 1856. Parliamentary "Blue Book" on the Search for Franklin A rare Parliamentary paper relating to the lost Franklin expedition. This "blue book" a series of parliamentary reports named for their original blue paper wrappers contains a wealth of information about Franklin's expedition including detailed correspondence on the Second Grinnell Expedition with Kane's report and the Hudson's Bay Company's expedition down the Back River under Anderson and Stewart. Also includes Richard King's proposal to venture down the Back River to Montreal Island; the recovery and subsequent disposal of the Resolute; Collinson's report on Franklin relics; correspondence on the rewards for Franklin searches; and a list of American officers and men entitled to receive the Arctic Medal known today as the Polar Medal and given out by the British government to "all persons of every rank and class who have been engaged in the several Expeditions to the Arctic Regions whether of discovery or search between the years 1818 and 1855". Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 expedition his fourth to the Arctic and third as commander set out in 1845 to search for the fabled Northwest Passage. In September 1846 the expedition's ships became trapped in the ice off of King William Island which would be their final resting place. The crew spent the next year and a half trapped there before attempting to walk south dying along the way in the arctic tundra hundreds of miles from the nearest European settlements. After three years without word the British Admiralty launched a massive search for the missing ships. Spurred by a large reward many expeditions from Britain and the United States set out on the hunt beginning in 1848 and continuing through the next decade. The British Parliament printed occasional reports of the various expeditions and related Arctic subjects during that time. These reports became known as the Arctic "blue books." One of the scarcer Franklin items rarely appearing on the market and with only a handful recorded in OCLC. Folio. Gathered signatures stitched. Soiling and edge wear to outer leaves minor scattered foxing else very good. ARCTIC BIBLIOGRAPHY 45249. TPL 3659. LANDE S910. unknown