Hoag, Elaine

p. 3, Parry’s Hecla while wintering in the Arctic in December 1824: It was Parry who had recognized that the Arctic expeditions of his predecessors had often been jeopardized, not by the dangers of the journey itself, but by the long inactive winter layover, with its monotonous diet, unvaried company, restricted physical activity, lack of light and warmth, and simple boredom. In response, Parry instituted a highly successful wintering regime that included shipboard theatricals, concerts and masquerades among its many elements. Broadside advertisements were a natural adjunct to these activities.

p. 109, footnote 39: The catalogue of the Resolute library appears in the first issue (June 1850) of the Aurora Borealis, one of the manuscript newspapers produced on that voyage. The issue is held in the Edward Newell Harrison papers, MS/75/061, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The catalogue was not reproduced in Arctic Miscellanies, the publication that reprinted selections from the Aurora Borealis after the crew returned home to England. The catalogue of the library on Belcher’s Assistance was actually printed on board ship: A Catalogue of the Library Established on Board H.M.S.Assistance, Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B. Commanding the Arctic Squadron in Search of Sir John Franklin and His Companions: Printed and published on Board H.M.S.Assistance, Wellington Channel, Arctic Regions, H. Briantt, Printer, 1853. (1853). A copy of this catalogue is held in the Royal Geographical Society Library bound with other pamphlets concerning the Arctic donated by John Barrow Jr. and given the binder’s title: Arctic Pamphlets, 1852-54.