Knife blade

A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-48. A knife blade with part of a horn handle attached by rivets, obtained from the Inuit at Repulse Bay in 1854 by the Rae Expedition. The Inuit said that they had found the material at a camp to the north west of the mouth of the Back River where a party of Europeans had died of starvation. The maker's name 'WIGFALL & CO CAST STEEL' is stamped on the blade. The item is shown in the drawing by Edward Pulleyn (AAA3972). It was presented to Greenwich Hospital by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 2 December 1854.

Object Details

ID: AAA2061
Collection: Polar Equipment and Relics
Type: Knife blade
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wigfall & Co
Events: Arctic Exploration: Franklin's Last Expedition, 1845-1848; Arctic Exploration: Dr John Rae, 1853-1854
Date made: circa 1845
People: Greenwich Hospital
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection
Measurements: Overall: 13 x 175 x 27 mm