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Auction: 16043 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 35

(x) Documents
John Franklin
1831 (26 November) entire A.L.S. to Stilwell & Sons from H.M.S. Rainbow while serving on the Mediterranean Station. The letter, in a light ink, deals with various accounting matters and is signed "John Franklin". Carried in Navy Bag to London with a fine strike of handstruck "2" and boxed "T.P/CharingCrofs" in black; usual filing creases which has resulted in a paper split, parts of flap missing including where the wax seal has been removed. Photo

Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN (1786 – 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. Franklin also served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) from 1837 to 1843. He disappeared on his last expedition, attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The icebound ships were abandoned and the entire crew perished from starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning and scurvy.

Between 1830 and 1834, Franklin commanded the frigate HMS Rainbow for duty in the Mediterranean, mainly playing a peace-keeping role along the coast of Greece during its war of independence.


1845: Northwest Passage expedition: It is now believed that the expedition wintered in 1845–46 on Beechey Island. Terror and Erebus became trapped in ice off King William Island in September 1846 and never sailed again. According to a note later found on that island, Franklin died there on 11 June 1847. To date, the exact location of his grave is unknown. After two years and no word from the expedition, Franklin's wife urged the Admiralty to send a search party. Because the crew carried supplies for three years, the Admiralty waited another year before launching a search and offering a £20,000 reward for finding the expedition. The money and Franklin's fame led to many searches. At one point, ten British and two American ships, USS Advance and USS Rescue, headed for the Arctic. Eventually, more ships and men were lost looking for Franklin than in the expedition itself.


For documents from the 1848 search for Franklin, see lot 45 and for 1865 letter from Lady Jane Franklin, see lot 59

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