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Auction: 11029 - Summer Collector's Series sale
Lot: 228

Arctica 1894-97 Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition 1894-95 envelope and original hand-written letter, franked solely by photographic vignette of the ship and bearing bold violet "franz josef land" straight-line cachet diagonally across the centre; the letter written by Dr. Reginald Koettlitz, surgeon and botanist, addressed to H.Dowdeswell, Esq., England whilst on board S.Y. Windward, lat.80° N, Long. 50° E" on August 25th, 1894, the letter with fascinating contents including P.S. Please preserve the stamp of attached as it will be valuable" and "...this is the last opportunity I shall have for at least two years, if only to say goodbye..." and then further added on 6th April, 1895 at Cape Flora, Franz Josef Land stating "...All I will say is that the ship could not get home last year as winter had already set in when we got here and new ice was already forming, that we had the arctic night upon us for 4 months and that we were really glad to see the sun again...."; cover with edge faults and some soiling, nevertheless an extremely rare and desirable artifact of the expedition that rescued Nansen. Photo Estimate £ 2,000-2,400 provenance: Spink Shreves Galleries, 2009

Sold for
£1,400