Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage - photo 1
Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage - photo 2
Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage - photo 3
Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage - photo 4
Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage - photo 5

Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M`Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage

Lot 3
16.06.2023 16:00UTC -05:00
Classic
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$ 23 940
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
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ID 965137
Lot 3 | Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M'Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage
Estimate value
$ 25 000 – 35 000
Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M'Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage
Samuel Cresswell, 1854
CRESSWELL, Samuel Gurney (1827-1867). A Series of Eight Sketches in Colour of the Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M'Clure), during the Discovery of the North-West Passage. London: Day and Son and Ackermann and Co., 1854.

Cresswell's rare and spectacular views of the entrapment and abandonment of H.M.S. Investigator in the Arctic ice. The explorer Sir Douglas Mawson's copy, with the original wrappers preserved. In 1850, Robert McClure was given command of the Investigator as part of the second Franklin search expedition. Entering the North-West Passage from the Bering Strait and sailing eastwards, the ship became trapped in pack ice in the autumn of 1851, before being finally abandoned in 1853. Although the events were fully documented, the location of the wreck was not known for over 150 years because of difficulties reaching the area. In July 2010 the Investigator was found at a depth of 8 meters, just off Banks Island, in the Beaufort Sea. Of the three Franklin Search plate books (Cresswell, May and Browne), this is the most handsome and rare.

This copy belonged to Douglas Mawson (1882-1958), the Australian geologist and important expedition leader to the Antarctic. He first went to the Antarctic with Shackleton on the Nimrod expedition, and was the sole survivor of the Far Eastern Party. Just a couple of years later, he instigated and led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Abbey Travel 644; Arctic Bib. 3477; Bobins 44; Lande 1128; Sabin 17490; TPL 3353.

Folio (582 x 420mm). Title incorporating dedication (darkened at edges). 8 chromolithographic plates and one chart (minor foxing/spotting, mostly marginal). Contemporary half muslin and marbled boards (rebacked with original spine laid down); original wrappers bound in (worn and stained, laid down). Provenance: Sir Douglas Mawson, 1882-1958, Antarctic explorer (polar-themed bookplate dated 1932) – Ruari McLean, 1917-2006, graphic design scholar (bookplate).Cresswell, Samuel Gurney
Arctic
Northwest Passage
Place of origin:Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom
Auction house category:Printed books
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