Photographs of Sir John Franklin and his crew, taken just days before their ill-fated 1845 Arctic voyage, were auctioned for over $545,000 this week, according to CNN.
Historians were surprised by the discovery of these daguerreotypes, commissioned by Franklin's wife shortly before the crew of 134 embarked on their mission to chart the Northwest Passage, as they were unaware that they still existed.
Setting sail on two ships, the explorers had provisions to last for a three-year journey. However, as time passed with no word from them, concerns grew among their families that something had happened.
The circumstances surrounding their journey, including indications that some of the men turned to cannibalism, remained veiled in secrecy for many decades.
The images, which were auctioned at Sotheby's, portray the 14 high-ranking officers of the expedition and were said to have been preserved within Franklin's family for generations.
"Lady Franklin having the foresight to memorialize this really important and historic moment of this expedition about to begin, it is very poignant in retrospect, of course, because then they disappear," Emily Bierman, global head of Sotheby's photographs department, told CNN.
"And the history that happens over the next 170-plus years of what exactly happened to Franklin, what happened to his men, where did the ships go, you can really tie it to these photographs."
Franklin's wife appealed to the British government to organize a search party for Franklin and his fellow explorers. Due to the government's reward, equivalent to about $2.5 million today, numerous crews were motivated to explore the Arctic, with some losing their lives during the quest.
Almost a decade after Franklin's expedition began, a Scottish explorer reported information from Inuits in the region, indicating that their ships had become trapped by thick ice, leading to them freezing to death.
It wasn't until 2014 and 2016 that the Canadian government, in collaboration with local indigenous groups, managed to locate remnants of the Erebus and Terror ships.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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