Moccasin

A pair of women's moccasins made of moose skin with wide flaps to wrap round the ankle, secured by strips of skin sewn to the sides of the vamps. The style is associated with the Cree nation. The vamps and flaps are made of lighter skin with the seams of the vamps sewn with bird quill - the colour now very faded. There is an internal seam down the back and an externally sewn welt across the heel.

These are likely be the moccasins mentioned in the Royal Naval Museum 1913 catalogue as being displayed in the Franklin Room, case 4, number 1, 'A pair of Indian moccasins and a knife sheath used by Sir John Franklin on his land journeys'. They were presented to the museum by Sophia Cracroft in 1892 (Sophia was the niece of Franklin's second wife Jane.) They are similar to another pair of moccasins in the collection (AAA3943) which were passed down through the family of Franklin's daughter. Franklin led two overland expeditions in North America to chart the shores of the Arctic Ocean in 1819-21 and 1825-27. Equipment and clothing was obtained at Hudson Bay Company and North West Company posts in the subarctic region. Articles of clothing such as these would have been made by local women. Franklin and George Back also seem to have purchased items as presents.

Object Details

ID: AAA3943
Collection: World Cultures
Type: Moccasin
Display location: Not on display
Date made: 1819-1827; 1819-27
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall: 115 mm x 145 mm x 240 mm
Parts: Moccasin