Further Papers Relative To The Recent Arctic Expeditions In Search Of Sir John Franklin And The Crews Of H.M.S. "Erebus" And "Terror." Presented To Both Houses Of Parliament By Command Of Her Majesty. January 1855 [Arctic, Franklin Search] - Great Britain, Admiralty Office Americana & Canadiana,Voyages & Travel

(12 11/16 x 7 13/16 inches). iv, 958 pp. 27 maps (18 folding), 84 illustrations (including 10 maps). Quarter morocco over brown cloth, black morocco gilt letterpiece on spine. The largest and one of the rarest "Arctic blue books" concerning the search for Franklin: the reports arising out of Belcher's Expedition conducted between April 1852 and September 1854. 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 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 hearing a word from the expedition, 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. This "blue book" (a series of parliamentary reports named for the original blue paper wrappers which were issued with many, but not all, the reports) contains official reports on Belcher's expedition. Five ships, under the general command of Captain Edward Belcher, were sent by the Admiralty to search for Sir John Franklin and his crew in the regions of Wellington Channel and Melville Island. Exploration within the Eastern Division was directed by Belcher, and the Western Division by Captain Henry Kellett. With his depot ship stationed at Beechey Island, off southwestern Devon Island, Belcher took the Assistance and Pioneer north into Wellington Channel, and wintered in 1852-53 at Northumberland Sound. Meanwhile, the Resolute and Intrepid under Kellett sailed to the west, and wintered in 1852-53 at Dealy Island, Bridport Inlet, and southern Melville Island. For the winter of 1853-54, Belcher's vessels moved south to Baring Bay, whereas Kellett's vessels were frozen-in near Cape Cockburn on the southwestern part of Bathurst Island. All these vessels were abandoned in 1854. The depot ship, North Star, under Commander W.J.S. Pullen, remained at Beechey Island throughout. The Belcher Expedition papers comprise three groups: those of Belcher, Kellett, and Pullen. Two other expeditions are also referred to, which pertain to the Eastern Canadian Arctic (i.e., those of Commander Edward Inglefield in 1854, and John Rae in 1853-54). In addition, relatively minor contributions to this volume are made by Captain Richard Collinson (1851-54) of the Enterprise, Captain Wallace Houston (1854) of the Trincomalee, Commander Robert Mc'Clure (1853-54) of the Investigator, Commander Rochfort Maguire (1853-54) of the Plover, and Commander Henry Trollope (1854) of the Rattlesnake, all of which operated almost exclusively in the Bering Sea and western Arctic regions Arctic Bibliography 45245; TPL 3549.