Description:

Shackleton Ernest 1874 - 1922
Ernest Shackleton signs a check as Commander of "The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition"

Partly printed check no. 128/L39694 from Lloyds Bank Limited, St. James's Street, S.W. signed by "E.H. Shackleton" in black fountain pen lower right. Shackleton authorized this £10 payment to the Yost Typewriter Co. as Commander of "The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition". Also signed by "Frank W. White" as Secretary of the same expedition. Check is dated from London on July 1, 1914. Purple teller's mark stamp appears across mid check, and check is endorsed verso. In extra fine condition, in full and bright colors, measuring 8.25" x 4.375". Also stamped "The Shackleton Collection" at lower right, presumably indicating a provenance related to the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University.

On August 8, 1914, five weeks after Sir Ernest Shackleton signed this check, he set sail from Plymouth, England with a 28-man team aboard the "Endurance", a Norwegian constructed three-masted barquentine. Their goal was to be the first men to cross Antarctica by land. This check might have gone towards purchasing a typewriter or paper supplies that the team --comprised of sailors, scientists, and adventurers -- would need to document their hazardous journey. The Yost Typewriter Company operated from Bridgeport, CT but had a London office at 50 Holborn Viaduct. One can speculate about what happened to such supplies after the crew was forced to abandon the "Endurance" after it was crushed by pack ice in 1915.

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
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