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Arctic Exploration 1850/51: Balloon Message slip printed on ...more
Arctic Exploration 1850/51: Balloon Message slip printed on yellow
silk (150 x 60 mm.), an unused example made for the Expedition led
by Sir John Ross in his search for the ill-fated Sir John Franklin
Expedition, which had left London in May 1845 with the ships
"Erebus" and "Terror" intending to explore the Canadian Arctic
region. They reached Greenland and headed North but were never seen
again. Four years later Ross set out in the schooner "Felix" to
Lancaster Sound, largely to restore his name after finding the
famous North West passage but not recognising he had done so due to
ice-blindness (it was later 'found' again by his colleagues on that
journey), to search for Franklin and traces of his crew. The
Balloon slips were used to attach or be placed inside small
balloons, marking where provisions could be found and indicating
where the despatching ship intended to spend the winter months when
icebound. Ross failed to find Franklin or any of his men and Ross
returned to England in October 1851 by way of Greenland, where he
encountered rumours that Franklin and his party were all dead.
Although most people disregarded these, Ross stood by them. An
extraordinary item for the Balloon specialist and the first example
this describer has seen.
1908 postcard addressed to Christchurch franked overprinted New ...more
1908 postcard addressed to Christchurch franked overprinted New Zealand 1d Universal tied 'BRIT. ANTARCTIC EXPD' c.d.s. 'FE 27 08'
Corinphila stamp auction
Lot 5062
LIVE!
3000.00 CHF
(app. 3243 EUR)
Sold
(app. 3243 EUR)
Chris Rainey
Lot 12314
Fixed Price
165.00 GBP
(app. 189 EUR)
(app. 189 EUR)
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