King, Richard:

$18,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION FROM FIRST TO LAST. An author's presentation copy of a truly rare work by Richard King, collecting his correspondence with the British Admiralty and the Colonial Office, regarding King's offers of help in the search for John Franklin's lost expedition. "Includes considerable comment on the geography, importance of the Back River route to find Franklin, conditions of travel in the region, and on the activities of those (in northern Canada and in London) involved in the Franklin search" - ARCTIC BIBLIOGRAPHY."King took great interest in Franklin's expedition and was one of the first to raise the alarm when he failed to return. He insisted, at first on very slender evidence, that Franklin's party would be found near the mouth of the Great Fish River. His opinion was discounted and in 1847 and 1856 his offer to lead a search party was refused. His loud and continued insistence on the need to search his favoured site increased the animosity of the Admiralty, the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Royal Geographical Society, who were also irritated by popular journals which took up King's point of view. Matters were not helped by King's Franklin Search from First to Last (1855) which set out his own convictions and dwelt on the obduracy of those who would not listen to him. Franklin's party was finally found by McClintock in 1859 in the spot King had suggested eleven years earlier. The delay, however, probably made no material difference since, even if his advice

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.