Unveiling the Enigmatic Final Moments: Extraordinary Price Paid for Last Photos of John Franklin's Ill-fated Polar Expedition
Rare daguerreotype photographs of John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition in 1845 fetch a staggering $545,000 at auction, making them some of the most valuable ever sold Journey back in time through these haunting images captured before tragedy struck
Editors Note: This article was revised to include the final sale price and additional information after the conclusion of the auction.
Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition intrigued the Victorian public with its enigmatic vanishing, futile rescue attempts, and gruesome accounts of cannibalism.
On Thursday, a collection of photographs showcasing Franklin and his senior officers, captured in May 1845, merely three days before their departure, were successfully sold at a Sothebys auction in London for a staggering amount of £444,500 ($545,700).
"It is quite rare to come across an item of such significant historical value that has remained in private possession, particularly a relic directly descended from the family of Sir John Franklin... and the chance to unveil such a piece to the public is truly remarkable," expressed Emily Bierman, the global head of Sothebys' photographs department, in an interview with CNN prior to the auction.
Commissioned by Jane, the wife of Franklin, these daguerreotypes—the earliest form of successful photography—capture the final moments of the 14 men and were believed to be lost until recently.
Engraving showing the end of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition, taken from a painting by W. Thomas Smith exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1896.
Historia/Shutterstock
In retrospect, Lady Franklin's initiative to memorialize this significant and historic moment of the upcoming expedition is incredibly poignant, considering the subsequent disappearance of the crew," remarked Bierman. "The events that unfolded in the following 170-plus years, unraveling the fate of Franklin and his men, as well as the whereabouts of the ships, can truly be connected to these photographs."
On May 19, 1845, Franklin embarked on an expedition to chart the remaining 500 kilometers (311 miles) of Arctic coastline in order to complete the Northwest Passage. Accompanied by two ships and a crew of 134 men, they had enough preserved food supplies for three years.
However, after two years without any communication from the expedition, Lady Franklin urged the Admiralty in London to initiate a search party. Despite considering the ample supplies available to the expedition, an additional year passed before a search effort was launched. In a bid to incentivize the search, a reward of £2 million ($2.5 million) in today's currency was offered.
"These are the original daguerreotypes used to create the engravings featured in the 1851 edition of the Illustrated London News," explained Bierman. "When envisioning the appearance of Franklin and his officers, it is these portraits that serve as the primary reference point for most individuals."
The promise of a significant reward led to numerous searches, resulting in a greater loss of men and ships in the pursuit of Franklin and his crew than in the original expedition. According to Bierman, the photographs served as a powerful catalyst, imbuing the story with a sense of humanity through visual representation.
In 1854, Scottish explorer John Rae received information from Inuit hunters, who disclosed that the ships had become trapped in ice and the men had succumbed to the cold and, in desperate measures, resorted to cannibalism.
However, the fate of the crew remained a mystery until the 21st century when Canada's national parks service and the Inuit communities discovered the ships. HMS Erebus was found in 2014, followed by HMS Terror in 2016. The tragic and mysterious demise of the expedition has captivated the public, inspiring fictional works such as the 2018 AMC TV show "The Terror," featuring Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, and Ciarán Hinds.
