A wooden clothes brush from the 1845 Northwest Passage Expedition led by Sir John Franklin. The brush as been carved with 'H*Wilks' on the side. The bristles in the central area are more worn compared to the two ends. Henry Wilks was the 28 year-old Royal Marine Private (Third Class) from Leicester when he joined HMS Terror at Woolwich. The brush was probably brought ashore to brush snow off the owner's clothing before entering the tent.

The brush was recovered by the US expedition under Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka between 1878-1880. It is described as 'Item 50. Brush (marked H Wilks) from Irving Bay' in the 1881 catalogue of items that he sent back to Britain in 1881 [TNA, ADM 1/6600]. It has the remains of a paper bordered label attached with 'Irving Bay' on it, corresponding to the labels attached to items sent by Schwatka.

Schwatka's expedition arrived at Irving Bay (their name for the bay just below Victory Point) on the north west coast of King William Island on 25 June 1879 where they discovered Lt. Irving's grave. This was the place where the crews of 'Erebus' and 'Terror' landed after abandoning their ships. At about twenty feet from the high water mark Schwatka records 'A tent had evidently been erected near this pile of waste material [the discarded clothing], its bottom being cushioned with blankets. Underneath them was found a clothes brush which had the owner's name 'H. WILKS', cut in the side of it.' [Schwatka, page 82].

The brush was displayed in the Royal Naval Museum, Greenwich, 'Case 3, No. 14. Brush'. It was also in Display 14 at the Royal Naval Exhibition at Chelsea in 1891.