The last photos of John Franklin’s doomed polar expedition party are going on sale

CNN — Sir John Franklin’s doomed expedition to the Arctic captivated the Victorian public with its mysterious disappearance, fruitless rescue missions and gory tales of cannibalism. “It doesn’t happen that often when we get something of this historic importance that has been in private hands, a family of Sir John Franklin by direct descent…and then you have the opportunity to present something like this to the public,” 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.” On May 19, 1845, Franklin set out with two ships and a crew of 134 men with the intention of exploring 500 kilometers of Arctic coastline to complete the charting of the Northwest Passage. “It is these portraits that most people, when you think about knowing what Franklin and the officers looked like … these daguerreotypes that most people draw their reference from.” Such a large reward prompted many searches, with more men and ships lost looking for Franklin and his men than in the original expedition itself.